Women’s Right to Vote in Spain
Women’s Day Spain / December 9, (1931)

Women’s Right to Vote in Spain, Women's Suffrage

Introduction

The journey to women’s suffrage in Spain followed a distinctive path shaped by the nation’s complex political history, powerful religious influences, and periods of dramatic regime change. Unlike many other European countries where women’s voting rights emerged gradually following World War I, Spain’s path was interrupted by civil war and dictatorship. This article explores the pivotal moments, key figures, and broader context of women’s suffrage in Spain, centering on the landmark date when Spanish women finally secured the right to vote.

The Landmark Date: December 9, 1931

Women in Spain officially gained the right to vote on December 9, 1931, when the Spanish Constitution of the Second Republic was approved. This constitution declared in Article 36: “Citizens of either sex, over twenty-three years of age, shall have the same electoral rights as determined by law.” The first elections in which Spanish women could exercise this right were held on November 19, 1933.

This milestone came after intense parliamentary debate and was achieved during Spain’s Second Republic (1931-1939), a brief democratic period between the monarchy and Franco’s dictatorship. However, women’s suffrage in Spain would be short-lived, as the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and subsequent Francisco Franco dictatorship (1939-1975) effectively suspended democratic rights for all Spaniards for nearly four decades.

Historical Context: The Path to Suffrage

Early Women’s Rights Movements in Spain

The roots of Spain’s women’s suffrage movement can be traced to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though they developed more slowly than in other European nations:

  • 1870s-1890s: Early feminist writers like Concepción Arenal and Emilia Pardo Bazán began advocating for women’s education and legal rights
  • 1910s: Women gained access to universities and some professional opportunities
  • 1918: The Spanish Association for Women’s Suffrage was established
  • 1920s: During Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship (1923-1930), limited political representation was granted to women in the National Assembly, though this was far from universal suffrage

The Second Republic and the Constitutional Debate

When the Second Republic was proclaimed in April 1931, it created an unprecedented opportunity to redefine Spanish democracy. The provisional government immediately granted women the right to be elected to the Constituent Assembly (passive suffrage) but not yet the right to vote (active suffrage).
The constitutional debate over women’s suffrage revealed deep divisions, even among progressives. Three key positions emerged:

  1. Full immediate suffrage – advocated by a coalition of conservative Catholics and feminist progressives
  2. Delayed suffrage – supported by some liberals who feared women’s votes would favor conservative parties due to the influence of the Catholic Church
  3. No women’s suffrage – pushed by those who opposed women’s political participation entirely

Clara Campoamor and the Fight for Suffrage

The most important figure in Spain’s suffrage movement was undoubtedly Clara Campoamor (1888-1972), a lawyer, writer, and one of the few female representatives elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1931. Her passionate defense of women’s suffrage, often against members of her own Radical Party, proved decisive for the movement’s success.

During the constitutional debates, Campoamor delivered a series of powerful speeches challenging the logic of building a democracy while excluding half the population. Her most famous declaration came when she asserted: “Women’s suffrage is possible, just, and necessary to the Republic. Today, as yesterday, I stand by the Republic and I stand by universal suffrage. Either you believe in democracy or you don’t.”

The final vote on Article 36 passed with 161 votes in favor and 121 against, with many representatives abstaining. Campoamor’s successful advocacy made Spanish women some of the earliest in Southern Europe to gain full voting rights.

Victoria Kent: The Opposing Voice

Interestingly, one of the most vocal opponents of immediate women’s suffrage was another female representative, Victoria Kent (1898-1987). Kent, a member of the Radical Socialist Party, argued that Spanish women were not yet politically prepared and remained too influenced by the Church. She feared that granting women voting rights would strengthen conservative forces and endanger the Republic.

This disagreement between Campoamor and Kent exemplifies the complex political landscape around Spanish women’s suffrage, where ideological concerns sometimes outweighed gender solidarity. Kent advocated for postponing women’s suffrage until women had received more education and exposure to Republican ideals.

The Campoamor-Kent debate has become legendary in Spanish parliamentary history, symbolizing the tension between immediate political equality and strategic political calculation.

Other Notable Women in the Spanish Suffrage Movement

Margarita Nelken (1894-1968)

A writer, art critic, and socialist politician, Nelken was elected to parliament in three consecutive elections during the Second Republic. Like Kent, she initially opposed immediate women’s suffrage for tactical political reasons, believing women would vote conservatively. However, she later came to support women’s voting rights and became a prominent voice for women’s issues.

María de Maeztu (1882-1948)

An educator and founder of the Residencia de Señoritas (a women’s residence modeled after men’s colleges), Maeztu worked to expand women’s educational opportunities. Though more focused on education than explicit political rights, her work helped create a generation of educated women who would demand full citizenship.

Carmen de Burgos (1867-1932)

Writing under the pseudonym “Colombine,” Burgos was a journalist, novelist, and early feminist who advocated for women’s rights, including divorce rights and suffrage. In 1921, she organized Spain’s first demonstration for women’s suffrage, though she died just before the constitutional victory in 1931.

Federica Montseny (1905-1994)

An anarchist leader who became Spain’s first female cabinet minister in 1936, Montseny brought attention to women’s issues during the Republic and Civil War periods. While anarchists often rejected electoral politics entirely, Montseny’s prominence helped normalize women’s political participation.

The 1933 Elections: Women Vote for the First Time

The first Spanish elections with universal suffrage were held on November 19, 1933. Despite fears from some Republicans, there is no clear evidence that women’s votes alone caused the conservative victory in these elections, though they may have contributed to it within a broader context of political realignment.

Participation was high among women voters, demonstrating their eagerness to exercise their new political rights. Some observations from this historic election:

  • Women constituted 51.9% of the registered electorate
  • Women voters faced intimidation in some areas
  • Some voting stations were segregated by gender
  • Political parties scrambled to appeal to women voters, creating special campaign materials

Ironically, Clara Campoamor lost her seat in this election, and her political career never fully recovered from her break with her party over the suffrage issue.

The Return of Democracy and Women’s Rights

Following Franco’s death in 1975, Spain began its transition to democracy. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 restored universal suffrage, explicitly guaranteeing equality before the law regardless of gender. In the years since, Spanish women have steadily increased their political participation:

  • 1977: The first democratic elections after Franco saw 21 women elected to parliament (6% of total)
  • 1988: The Socialist government established the Women’s Institute to promote gender equality
  • 2007: The Law of Equality required political parties to include at least 40% women candidates
  • 2018: Spain made headlines with a cabinet composed of 11 women and 6 men under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez

Today, Spain ranks among European leaders in women’s political representation, with women comprising approximately 44% of the Congress of Deputies as of 2021.

Spain’s Suffrage in European Context

Spain’s 1931 establishment of women’s suffrage came at a middle point in the European suffrage timeline:

The timing of Spain’s suffrage victory was progressive for Southern Europe, but its implementation was tragically brief before being interrupted by dictatorship.

Women’s Right to Vote in Spain

The achievement of women’s suffrage in Spain on December 9, 1931, represents a critical moment in the nation’s democratic evolution. The constitutional guarantee of equal voting rights for women came after intense debate and through the passionate advocacy of figures like Clara Campoamor, who risked her political career to champion gender equality.

What makes Spain’s suffrage story particularly poignant is its brief initial implementation before being extinguished during nearly four decades of dictatorship. When Spanish democracy reemerged in the late 1970s, women’s suffrage was restored alongside other democratic rights, finally allowing Spanish women to fully participate in their nation’s political life.

Today, as Spain continues to strengthen its democratic institutions and advance gender equality, the achievements of pioneering suffragists like Campoamor remain a vital reminder of democracy’s fragility and the importance of defending hard-won rights. The story of women’s suffrage in Spain ultimately demonstrates how political rights can be gained through persistence, lost through authoritarianism, and regained through democratic renewal.

Commemorating 90 years of women’s suffrage

Sep 28, 20201 – The lawyer and writer Clara Campoamor, a parliamentarian from 1931 to 1933, stood up for women’s right to vote as an essential conquest for building a fairer and more equal society. The parliamentary debate where Campoamor defended women’s suffrage practically single-handed concluded with a historic vote on 1 October 1931, gaining approval with 161 votes in favour, 121 against and 188 abstentions.
> barcelona.cat/feminism-women/commemorating-90-years-of-womens-suffrage

Facts and figures

Leadership and political participation – [UN Women]
IPU-UN Women in politics map – [IPU]