Irene Montero, of Spain’s troubled hard-left party Podemos, is piloting a series of “feminist legislation” through the country’s parliament, but said her ambition is to ensure every government decision is made with gender equality in mind. Under Ms Montero’s leadership, Spain, with its deeply rooted macho culture, will become the first country in Europe to offer guaranteed menstrual leave from work to women with severe period pain. Ms Montero, whose partner Pablo Iglesias co-founded Podemos, is also expanding access to abortion, allowing more support for victims of gender-based violence and changing the threshold for a rape offense to include any sexual activity without express consent. From her office at the Equality Ministry, established in 2020 under the current left-wing government, she told The Telegraph: “Feminism must become a state issue. We need to get to a point where feminist policies become a structural part of the architecture of the state, expressed in all laws and budgets.” At 34, Ms Montero is the youngest member of the coalition government led by Spain’s Socialist Party. One of its flagship policies allows women with severe period pain to take guaranteed menstrual leave from work, with the cost covered by Spain’s social security system.
