2.3.3 Attitudes Towards Women

• In the Nationalist zones, women were expected to play traditional roles. In groups such as the Seccion Femenina and the Carlist Margaritas, they were expected to do charity work and produce food
• Even though sex outside marriage was forbidden, many women in the Nationalist resorted to prostitution to make money
• To help the Nationalists, women had to run social services such as youth centres, public canteens and health services without much pay
• In Catalonia, a marriage code was introduced which gave women equal rights with men in terms of marriage and divorce
• Anarchist Federica Montseny and communist Dolores Ibarruri both had high ranking positions which they used to improve health and welfare
• Despite being left-wing, the Communist Women Against Fascism organisation emphasised the traditional roles of women by making them work as nurses or in orphanages
• Around 1,000 women fought as part of socialist militia groups, including Lina Odena
• The POUM took sexual equality very seriously, encouraging men and women to share tasks such as fighting and washing clothes. However, the Popular Army did not allow women to fight on the frontlines to ensure a traditional military structure
• From September 1936, divorce and civil marriage were outlawed and separate syllabuses were formed for girls' education to prepare them for their domestic roles
• Women often filled the positions of men, who were busy fighting, in factories and war-related industries. However, they were frequently confronted by hostility from male workers who remained socially conservative