1. Federica Montseny is known for being the first woman in Spanish history to be a cabinet minister and one of the first female ministers in Western Europe.
15 Facts About Federica Montseny
1. 2.
Frederica Montseny i Mane was born on 12 February 1905 in Madrid, Spain.
3.
Federica Montseny was the sole surviving child of Joan Montseny and Teresa Mane, both teachers and anarchists of Catalan extraction.
4.
Federica Montseny would let them in as slowly as possible in order to give him time to hide.
5.
Federica Montseny became acquainted with literature as well as social and political theory.
6.
From her ministerial post, Federica Montseny oversaw the country's medical facilities, which had been completely overwhelmed by the conditions of the war, requiring the construction of orphanages and the provision of aid for refugees.
7.
Federica Montseny collaborated with the Mujeres Libres in the advancement of women's rights, carrying out a series of wide-ranging reforms including: the introduction of child care for women in the workforce and the militias; the provision of women's education and healthcare; and the combatting of prostitution in Spain.
8.
Federica Montseny persuaded the anarchist militia leader Buenaventura Durruti to transfer from the Aragon front and defend the capital, where he fought and died at the Battle of Ciudad Universitaria.
9.
Federica Montseny subsequently left the cabinet and attempted to continue her efforts in uniting republican forces, but by 1938, the deterioration of the republican front had forced her to increasingly focus on feeding her family.
10.
Federica Montseny's mother died in Perpignan, while her father was imprisoned and her husband was held in an internment camp.
11.
Federica Montseny later wrote in her book Pasion y Muerte de los Espanoles refugiados en Francia, that the regulations in place in organisations such as the Worker's Companies were designed to defeat the spirit of the Republican exiles and create a battalion of obedient slaves.
12.
Federica Montseny initially relocated to Paris, where she helped in the relocation of Spanish refugees, in spite of her own struggle to make ends meet.
13.
Federica Montseny briefly returned to Spain during the transition to democracy, during which her works were finally being republished.
14.
In 1930, Federica Montseny began a free love relationship with Germinal Esgleas.
15.
Federica Montseny attempted to raise her daughters to be "free women" and her son to respect women, but when interviewed about this she remarked that she had been largely unsuccessful, due to the strong hold that traditional gender roles still had.