Spain's new Socialist government, which has been lauded by feminists since taking office in April, is now drawing their wrath.
The government's eight female ministers, the highest number in the history of Spain's democracy, are being criticized for posing for fashion photographs, shot at the prime minister's central office complex, the Moncloa, for an article in the September issue of Vogue magazine, which reached newsstands in Madrid this week.
The 10-page article, "Eight Women For History," describes the women's policy views, personal backgrounds, and reflections on the place of women in Spanish society today. Much of the article includes opinions that are largely in line with previous statements made by the women since they took office. But the photographs that go with the article, women's groups say, have broken new ground.
"This is not like them," Lourdes Hernández, president of the Association of Neighborhood Women, told the Madrid daily El Mundo, which is often critical of the government. "We don't have to do this to show our worth. The ministers don't need to come out in those suits and pose like models."
http://www.iht.com/articles/534865.html