Federica Montseny: Role models

It is an old joke that Spain is the home of machismo. From living in Spain, I would say there lies some truth in this, however, progress has been made. For my second blog post in my role models series, I want to highlight another Spanish woman who has shaped the Spanish state and its society. Federica Montseny. 

A woman you have probably never heard of. She was born in Madrid, Spain on the 12th of February 1905. Montseny was educated at home by her parents, becoming acquainted with literature as well as social and political theory. In 1921, her family established a company which published libertarian literature. She contributed articles to anarchist journals such as Solidaridad Obrera, Tierra y Libertad y Nueva Senda. In her writings, she fought for women's emancipation in Spain. 

Federica wrote about 50 short novels, many on feminist themes. She believed in promoting individual liberty and self-development. She believed that the emancipation of women would lead to a quicker realisation of the social revolution in Spain and called for future women and men to lead the battle against sexism and a repressive society. Federica, like her family, championed the long Spanish tradition of the "free commune" in which land was socialised and production was directly in the hands of the producers. 

In 1921, Miguel Primo de Rivera banned the CNT, which resulted in it becoming an underground organisation. Around 1928, she joined the secret Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). This aimed to united Spanish and Portuguese anarchists and also provided a base from which to infiltrate and control such groups as the CNT. In April 1931, the king fled Spain, not long after the collapse of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, and Spain became a republic. This allowed journalists and writers to publish more freely. In her writing, Montseny demanded immediate freedom for jailed anarchists, full rights for labour and full political liberty. She began to use her passion on behalf of FAI, praising it before crowds of people and also became active in the CNT (Confederación Nacional de Trabajo). 

Then came the Spanish Civil War. In the years which preceded the war, Montseny sided with the left-wing anarchists. She was nicknamed Federica "Miss FAI" because of her militant support for radical anarchism. In July 1936, right-wing elements of the Spanish army began to revolt which soon developed into a full scale civil war. During the War, Montseny supported the republican government. A general strike stopped the army from seizing Barcelona and the anarchists began cooperating with Catalan nationalists. An "Anti-Fascist Militia Committee" was set up to coordinate these activities and resistance to the Nationalists. Montseny often participated in its meetings as a representative of the CNT. She argued that the anarchists must take part in this defacto government because otherwise a Fascist military dictatorship would result. 

Federica became a member of the national committee of the FAI and during the autumn of 1936 she acted temporarily as national secretary. The danger of Madrid falling to Franco on the right and the inability of the anarchists to advance in northeastern Spain caused the anarchists to join the government of the Republic. Four anarchists became ministers, including Montseny, whom the CNT chose to represent it. She took over the post of minister of health and public assistance, the first woman in Spanish history to achieve ministerial rank. At first, she opposed the idea of becoming a minister, but yielded to pressure from CNT and FAI leaders. 

Montseny sought public opinion on the development of social services before setting policy. She tried to involve delegates from the anarchist and socialist labour unions. She formed a Council of Social Supplies to purchase medical equipment, clothing, and food for the needy. She set up a council to attract doctors to help in developing public health projects such as a massive inoculation campaign against infectious disease. She also pushed for the legalisation of abortion, which despite the resistance of some ministers, was finally decreed on Christmas Day 1936. Concerned about the repercussions of legalising abortion, the government kept it virtually secret, not publishing the new law until March 5, 1937. Working with the anarchist minister of justice, Montseny amended the previous laws to provide for legally binding common-law marriages protecting both partners equally and removing stigmatism from any children who were born to such unions. She also set up women's centers open to all, including prostitutes and unmarried mothers. 

In January and February 1937, her efforts to find safe havens in France for Spanish orphans led to a trip to Geneva, Switzerland, to address the International Health Committee of the League of Nations. There she spoke on behalf of the women and children caught behind the lines of General Franco's army. Inside Spain, she gave speeches to publicise the role of anarchism and of the revolution in making a better life for the people of the country. She aided the efforts of the anarchist women's organisation, Mujeres Libres, which set up schools and nurseries for the children of mothers who had replaced militia men in the factories. Montseny encouraged the organisation's efforts to train women for useful, skilled and honorable employment. Federica encouraged the Mujeres Libres' efforts to teach women about health and sanitation and to provide medical care. 

Throughout the period of Montseny's ministry, tensions increased between the anarchists and the Communists. On May 3, 1937, growing tensions in Barcelona between the anarchists, Catalan nationalists and the Communists, erupted into full-scale fighting. The Spanish Communists had become bolder in their efforts to challenge and dominate the anarchists and other leftist groups. To stop the fighting in Barcelona, the Republican government wanted to assume control of public order and military affairs through Catalonia. During a 4 hour Cabinet meeting, Montseny led the opposition to this measure, since it threatened to undermine the influence and authority of the anarchists in Spain. Although the vote went against the anarchists, they were able to promise that the measure would not be put into effect until the anarchist and Socialist representatives had a change to negotiate a peaceful settlement. 

Montseny and the anarchist minister then rushed to Barcelona to mediate the crisis. Courageously, they drove through the streets of Barcelona to persuade the anarchists to stop fighting. Despite their peacemaking, in the early morning of May 6, Communist hit squads tried to assassinate Montseny as well as other leading anarchists. She managed to escape unharmed. In a Cabinet meeting on May 15 1937, Montseny sought to prove the complicity of the Communists, but the two Communist ministers simply walked out. Since the Spanish Republic was dependent on military supplies from the Soviet Union, and Stalin demanded cooperation between the Communists and the Republic, the prime minister resigned on May 16. 

In late December 1938, Franco began to take over Catalonia and a month later captured Barcelona. Hundreds of refugees fled to the French border, including Federica Montseny and her family. The authorities gave permission to enter France to Federica's mother but denied it to the others. In the pouring rain, Federica stood waiting in the crowd for almost 2 days. Finally an official of the Catalonian government recognised the former minister and interceded with the French authorities, who permitted Montseny and her family to cross. 

Unfortunately, she faced more difficulties after this. In early November 1941, the Vichy government in France, which was collaborating with Hitler, arrested Montseny together with Largo Caballero. General Franco had applied for their extradition to Spain. They would face firing squads should they be sent back. At the end of November, in consideration of Federica's pregnancy, the French court of Limoges rejected the extradition requests. Of course, she still continued her fight in France. Montseny's years of exile in southern France, were filled with activity. She took a leading role in reviving the CNT. She helped a flourishing organisation among the Spanish refugees in southern France and directed the publication of the periodical CNT and Espoir. 

On April 27, 1977, two years after Franco's death, she returned home to Spain and presided over a great anarcho-syndicalist meeting in Barcelona. She published her autobiography "mis primeros cuarenta años" in 1987. She died at age 88 in Spain. 

Montseny's anarchism 

By merely reading this brief summary of her life, it is extraordinary that she managed to make it so far in her life as a political activist in a turbulent time in Spain. At the core of Montseny's anarchism is the notion that any institution or public opinion that inhibits the natural development of an individual's potential is wrong. She states her belief that the survival and progress of humanity rests with creative individuals who will break the bonds of conformity and pull human society to a higher spiritual fulfilment. Federica often stated that nowhere is the suppression of this kind of individualism more pronounced than in the lives of Spanish women. 

She stated in an interview, "One must not forget that in Spain the Arabs remained for 700 years and left many attitudes influencing the male's conception of himself and of women. That is why the majority of my novels deal with the freeing of the women in her opposition to men and of elevating her onto a par with men." One must remember that Montseny does not desire an extension of equality for women but the right for each and every individual to be his or her natural self. Montseny wanted a social revolution, one that produces people who judge individuals on their merits only, a revolution which will create a society in which the individual's potential is the objective. 

In her view, the suppression of female individualism is through marriage. She therefore seeks to redefine the relationship between the sexes. She insists that a woman has the right to choose when or if she wishes to marry, when she wishes to have children and how many she wants and can afford to have. She insists that is is a woman's right to choose the father of those children. She maintain that pregnancy is a woman's responsibility and a woman is obligated to know and to understand how her own body functions in order to control her pregnancy. She believes in free love, but insists that freedom of any kind is impossible without responsibility. 

Ultimately, in her view, anarchism without the emancipation of women is impossible. Emancipation of women is impossible until both women are willing to accept the responsibility of their own freedom. Finally, women are obligated to take freedom if it is not given to them. These are pretty radical ideas if we consider the time in which she was advocating for them. She spoke from one end of Spain to the other - about social justice, the need for worker unity, the evils of government and the rights of women. 

Her independence and certainty of herself is admirable. She continued to travel alone, go out at nights to rallies with male speakers and went to cafe with her male friends. She was the new woman for the new Spain that she so fervently advocated.