Spain is the first country in Europe to grant vacation days to people with menstrual pain. This is a “historic day”, praised the Minister for Equal Opportunities. Because the regulation on gender selection is also undergoing extensive reform. Church and conservatives are not very enthusiastic.
The Spanish Parliament has passed two laws allowing days off for menstrual cramps and free sex choice from the age of 16. The law of a “menstrual leave” so far unique in Europe was approved with 185 votes in favour, 154 against and three abstentions. Another law that would allow gender change with a simple administrative declaration from the age of 16 received 191 votes in favor, 60 voted against and 91 abstained. According to the left-leaning Spanish government, a taboo is to be broken with the regulation for a right to days off for women with severe menstrual pain, which has not yet existed in Europe.
“This is a historic day for feminist advances,” Equality Minister Irene Montero of the left-wing Podemos party wrote on Twitter. The Podemos Party’s demand for free sex choice for people over the age of 16 had been the subject of heated debate for months. It allows people to have their gender changed on their identity papers with a simple declaration from the authorities – without having to present a doctor’s certificate, as was previously required. So far, a change was only possible for adults. With the new law, free gender choice is even open to 14- to 16-year-olds if their parents or legal guardians agree, 12- to 14-year-olds also need a judge’s permission. The Catholic Church and the conservative opposition have criticized the new law.
According to Montero, the new law “depathologizes” trans people: “Today we took a giant step” in recognizing “free choice of gender identity,” she said. Spain is now one of the few countries in the world that allows self-determination of gender through a simple declaration. In 2014, Denmark became the first country in Europe to grant this right to citizens.
