Josep Maria. This is how opponents of Aliança Catalana sarcastically call a militant or sympathizer of Sílvia Orriols' party. It is an ironic stereotype to describe a profile of a traditional and conservative middle-aged man who used to vote for Convergència and has now switched to Aliança. There are even users on social media who use this name to ridicule the Islamophobic formation, emphasizing the lack of women at their events or stalls. Beyond the sarcasm, the data supports the party's male bias. Only 19% of the party's 2,500 militants are women, meaning fewer than 500, despite it being a new party that continues to grow in membership, and it is the only one, along with the Comuns, that is led by a woman. It is the lowest figure among parties with representation in Parliament, according to data provided by the political forces themselves, at the request of ARA. Vox, the other far-right formation, has a similar problem and only counts on 24.5% women among its membership. Following behind are the PP, with 32.2%; the CUP, with 34.1%; ERC, with 35.15%, and Junts and Comuns, with 40%. The PSC is the most feminized party with 49.1%.The profile of an Aliança militant resembles that of its voter: it is also the party with the fewest female voters. According to the latest poll by the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO), published in November, out of every 100 voters of the far-right party, only 39 are women compared to 61 who are men. And this statistic also goes hand in hand with Vox, which has 43% women and 57% men as voters. For their part, the percentage of women who say they will vote for the CUP is 45%, Junts and PP have 48%, while women are the majority among voters for Comuns (52%), ERC (54%), and PSC (56%). This low percentage of women in parties makes it difficult to form lists for municipal elections. This was acknowledged by the mayor of Ripoll during the first municipal convention, held in early February in Ripoll. The party leader admitted the difficulties they face in adapting to electoral regulations, which require the formation of zipper lists with parity between men and women. The law for effective equality between women and men, approved in 2007, establishes that in municipalities with more than 3,000 inhabitants, in each block of five candidates, no sex can have less than 40% of representatives. Thus, for example, among the first five places, there must be a minimum of two men and two women. This balance, which is not subject to whether the mayoral candidate is male or female, means that Aliança is aware that lists may be at risk due to a lack of women. "We will work to reverse this trend," stated the leader of Aliança during the municipal convention with an eye on the next elections. and can aspire to obtain the maximum number of councilors, this lack of women in their ranks also plays a key role.

This week marks four years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues; the internal war in Myanmar has been ongoing since 2021, and so on with at least a dozen other conflicts. And amidst so much bitterness, a scientific article published this year in the International Political Science Review In which Giuditta Fontana, from the University of Birmingham, and colleagues from the same university and the University of Hamburg conclude that, when women participate in peace processes, the probability of the conflict reigniting is reduced by at least 11%, reaching up to 37% when the UN intervenes.

With an already immense and Basque weariness towards the subject, I read that these days Mr. Juanma Bajo Ulloa –a film director who, some time ago, mesmerized me (at fourteen years old I went to the Fantasio cinema three times to see Butterfly wings) but which I later abandoned completely – goes around the world whining and saying that if you're not a woman or don't follow certain rules woke You're in a very difficult position in the film industry. I haven't seen the interview, nor will I: I'm speaking from hearsay. Some have come forward to refute Ulloa's claims with data, especially Javier Zurro: in short, we could say that, in terms of subsidies, there are a few extra points (very few) if some of the main positions are held by a woman. This is a measure that exists to correct the historical and ominous bias that films made by women have suffered. However, Zurro tells us that, despite the very small amount of support women receive, in 2023 only 36.5% of the projects that received funding had exclusively female directors, and in 2022, 37.8%; the same is true for the films in which RTVE invests: between 2020 and 2023, 63.7% had male directors. In other words, we continually hear the annoying refrain about poor men being left out, while the data confirms that men are still the majority in the industry.

Catalonia's oldest university – founded in 1300 as the Estudi General – now has a woman's face. The woman from Lleida. Maria Àngels Balsells Bailón is the first rector of the University of Lleida And one of only three in the entire Catalan university system. She shies away from individual triumphs and attributes it to "a collective advance." "I hope that one day this won't be news and people will simply talk about merit," she says.

Historiography has traditionally argued that guilds were an exclusively male institution. Only men could be members. But new research refutes this. The shopkeepers' and resellers' guild was mixed for 145 years, between 1624 and 1768. There were master resellers, but what prompted the guild to accept them was not ideas we now consider modern or feminist, but rather the need to balance its books. Years later, women were once again barred from membership.

Going to the gym has never been a common habit for all women in Afghanistan. In many remote areas, women do not even know what a gym is. For them, being active means working in the fields, carrying water, or spending long hours doing unpaid labor at home.

In Barcelona in 1761, people wielded a machine gun of whispers. Maria Badia's lawsuit against the Carpenters' Guild and the carpenter Pere Campañà was urban guerrilla warfare. She was a reseller and defended the right to buy and sell pine wood. There was litigation. She wasn't the only one: Isabel Surroca, Gertrudis Rius, Agnès Capella, Teresa Prats, Eulalia Alabern… There were many women. And before. And after. And they weren't there for the chickens. Because they were the ones who ran the restaurant.

Channel 33 has premiered a magnificent documentary series that should not be missed, especially if you lament the scarcity of cultural offerings on television. Draw for change (Draw for changeIt airs Monday nights, but the complete series is available on the 3Cat platform. Each episode is dedicated to a female cartoonist, comic artist, puppeteer, or illustrator from different parts of the world where power has stifled freedom of expression. You'll discover Doaa el-Adl in episode 3, the first woman to win one of Egypt's most prestigious cartooning awards. A courageous cartoonist, highly critical of the political and social context, she uses markers to combat the oppression suffered by women in her country. She has such talent for condensing the most heartbreaking ideas into a single panel that she'll compel you to watch the entire series and meet the other artists. You'll meet Amany al-Ali from Syria, threatened and denigrated for the content of her work; and Mar Maremoto, who uses her drawings to combat gender violence in Mexico and give a voice to the LGBTQ+ community. Also featured are Rachita Taneja, creator of a sharply satirical comic strip that has become very famous in India for its combative spirit; and Victoria Lomasko, a Russian exile, who portrays Putin's state violence through mural art.

Seeing the images of the damage the recent storm caused to the Badalona seafront, a friend wrote to me: "Sílvia, where will you walk now?" I replied that I was very upset because, indeed, the section that had become completely impassable was the one a friend and I usually walk along every morning, between Badalona and Montgat. However, as I told my friend, we hadn't done it for days because during the Christmas holidays I sprained my ankle, and it's still bothering me. I took the opportunity to tell him how I did it, because I knew he'd like to hear about it.

Delores Ohemaa Nketiah and Bintou Camara met in Catalan language and Catalan culture courses These are part of the social integration process for foreign nationals who wish to regularize their immigration status in the country. It is a long and costly process, as it requires non-EU citizens to live the first two years without papers – in an irregular situation—surviving however and wherever they can. Only after that time can they apply for legal status, provided they have a pre-employment contract or begin formal studies. It is at this point in the process that these two women find themselves stuck. They migrated alone and have had to face the added difficulties of being female migrants: the risks along the route and the vulnerabilities in the destination country.

I had always dreamed of pursuing a master’s degree in journalism. It was not an unrealistic dream,until the Taliban turned it into one inside Afghanistan. Universities closed, futures narrowed, and plans that once felt within reach suddenly became distant.

"When women get older, they can't find men their own size." That's the subtitle of The Superwoman SyndromeFrom psychologist Antoni Bolinches, this book attempts to understand why women are disappointed with love and why men are disoriented. Originally published in January 2020, shortly before the pandemic, it's now back in a revised and updated edition.

I have absolutely no desire to be twenty again. When I was twenty, I looked in the mirror and didn't see myself. I only focused on everything about my body and personality that I wanted to change. And although I already had the determination that has saved my ass so many times, it wasn't as honed or as well-focused. I wasn't as brave as I am now either. And I experienced far more fears and insecurities. Fewer than at fifteen, but a whole lot more than now. I wasn't really sure what I could do with my life, and I still had to fully believe that what I sensed was possible (working as a screenwriter and trying to write a children's book someday) could actually be real.

As a young woman, she explored the world with a mathematical eye and needed to understand the scientific basis of what she observed. The analytical gaze of Sara Figueras Vila (1964), from Solsona, led her to study physics, specialize in meteorology and geophysics, earn a doctorate in physical sciences, and become a pioneer in Spain in modeling seismic wave propagation using supercomputing techniques. This earthquake expert is proof that "not all science happens in laboratories." Since 2017, she has been head of the geophysics department at the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), where she strives to make knowledge a "useful, applicable, and accessible" resource. Without a hint of arrogance, she takes pride in working for "essential public services focused on the safety of the population."

Many women are used to feeling like they're more evil than a plague. And not for killing kittens, or for embezzling public funds. No, no, no. Simply for getting on the nerves of someone who cuts in line at the bakery (she's getting angry again, what does she think she's doing!), for pointing out that it's absurd to have bikinis for girls with tops (she's stirring up trouble again, what does she think she's doing! Let's forget about it and fix things, and from now on, the person who messed up will say it (unfriendly, cruel, conceited, arrogant, insensitive, what does she think she's doing!). For asking for a vacation, a leave of absence, or sick leave, or for someone to do the grocery shopping, or for them to stop harassing us (selfish, unsupportive, dramatic, what does she think she's doing!). Or for getting a divorce or making any major life change (look, what does she think she's doing!).

Not so long ago, going to a restaurant for me was not just about going to a public place; it was a way to breathe. Among the smell of hot rice and fresh bread, among the clinking of spoons and laughter, I could, for a few hours, forget what was happening outside those walls. For my generation -I am 25-, restaurants were something between home and the outside world; a space where family, partners, and friends could sit together and simply be “normal.”

Whenever they can, Anna, Núria, and Elena meet at the same café to catch up. They're all around forty, and for them, these few hours of conversation and relaxation are like therapy, leaving them feeling happy and refreshed. They've maintained their friendship for years, despite life changes like moving for work or having children. Their bond helps them cope with the challenges of daily life, even though they often have to share everything via WhatsApp.

Feminism emerged in 2018 from social movements at the forefront of the media and social agenda —that year saw the first global feminist strike in history— thanks to the Me Too movement denouncing sexual harassment, which originated in Hollywood and spread like wildfire. In Spain, the trigger was the street protests against the La Manada case. Feminism advances in waves, and we are now in the fourth wave, which has the denunciation of sexual violence as a key element. Me Too connected us as women and shattered the illusion of equality: "It was an awakening. Despite many decades of equality policies and equality in formal terms, attitudes of sexual violence continue to be reproduced underneath," argues Maria Freixenet, a researcher at the Institute of Political and Social Sciences ( The neo-machista backlash after the fourth wave of feminism, signed by several academics.

There are women who not only pave the way, but build it to create a new mindset. And this is only possible with new foundations. Montse Pujol, from Mollerus, founder and CEO of the PMP Group, headquartered in Lleida with offices throughout the country, has spent twenty years transforming the way we understand construction from her factory in Les Borges Blanques. A building engineer and pioneer in the industrialization and sustainability of housing, she has become the first woman to preside over the Business Meeting in the Pyrenees in its more than thirty-five-year history. "It is a great honor to represent the business community of Lleida, and also a responsibility from a female perspective," she says. At this key event for the country's economic sector, Montse Pujol asserts that the underrepresentation of women in the business world is a recurring theme. But she admits that equality in the upper echelons is still a pipe dream. "It's often women who struggle to take on positions of responsibility; there's a societal expectation of them taking on roles," she observes.

Women's sport has become a central focus of current events. Its presence in Catalan newscasts has increased tenfold in the last decade and, although still far from parity, it already represents 30.6% of sports broadcasts, according to the Catalan Government's Plan to Promote Women's Sport in Catalonia 2024-2030. A comparison between the 1900 and 2024 Paris Olympics shows the extent to which the situation of women in professional sport has changed: at the 1900 Paris Olympics—the first to admit women—women athletes accounted for 2.2% of participants; by 2024, female competitors represented 50%.