The bill, rejected in its entirety by the right, is also opposed by some voices in the feminist movement
The transgender rights bill, which is to be voted on by the Spanish Parliament tomorrow, is causing rifts not only in the governing coalition but also in Spain’s feminist movement.
This flagship bill pushed by the radical left, the Podemos party, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist partner in government, must then be approved by the Senate. If the “Trans Law”, as the Spanish call it, is approved as expected in the coming weeks, Spain will become one of the few countries in the world to allow gender self-determination through a simple administrative act.
“Trans people in the LGBTQI+ community can no longer wait for all their rights to be recognized. We will not accept any backsliding,” Equality Minister Irene Montero, who is close to Podemos, warned in October.
Aimed at ending the perception of intersex as a mental illness, the law will allow anyone who wishes to change their name and gender on their identity card from the age of 16, without having to have a medical certificate confirming that they suffer from “gender dysphoria” or some evidence of hormone therapy. It is also foreseen that the same possibility could be given to teenagers aged 12-16, under certain conditions, mainly with the consent of their legal representatives. This point was the subject of a long negotiation within the government.
“Trojan Horse”
Significant progress or ‘anti-feminist’ regression? The bill, rejected in its entirety by the right, is also opposed by some voices in the feminist movement. Well-known figures in the movement estimate, for example, that the bill harms women’s rights and may cause problems for young people – and in turn they are accused of “anti-trans” activism or “transphobia”.
With the bill, “we are introducing a Trojan Horse into the feminist movement,” Lola Venegas, spokeswoman for the Alliance Against the Marginalization of Women, who fears gender self-identification would lead to a “violent retreat” of women’s rights, told AFP. As he said, men changing gender “could participate in sports events for women” but also “enter women’s prisons” or “centers for abused women”. We cannot “let people define themselves,” he insisted.
Concerns are also expressed about the right to self-determination of young people under 16 years of age. Ages 12-14 would require judicial approval, but not ages 14-16, much to the dismay of the Socialist party who had proposed an amendment, which was ultimately rejected.
Internal disputes
Within the Socialist party, the bill has sparked tensions, starting with the surprise departure in October of activist Carla Antonelli, the first transgender woman elected to Spain’s regional parliament.
“Socialism, if it is not courageous, is not Socialism,” she wrote on Facebook, expressing her dismay at Pedro Sanchez’s party.
For Pablo Simón, professor of political science at the Carlos III University of Madrid, the confrontations reflect the “struggle for power” between Podemos and the Socialists, a year before parliamentary elections, but also tensions within the Socialist party and the feminist movement. “It is possible that if the Ministry of Equality was not in the hands of Podemos (feminists) they would not raise so many objections,” the researcher estimated.
However, Simon assessed that it does not seem likely that the tensions will lead to a rupture between the two parties that need each other to stay in power.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
