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Call for papers #37

Educating Women: The Position of the Sección Femenina

Jessica Davidson, James Madison University

In 1939, at the end of the Spanish Civil War, the Sección Femenina (SF) attempted to spread its influence through its teachings to "all Spanish women." The female branch of the Falange would ensure this training through its core courses for women including domestics, politics, and physical education, taught in all public and private primary and secondary schools. Franco supported this endeavor and looked to the SF as the "stabilizer" of women in the regime. While other issues hindered the success of the educational program such as inefficient administration and financial insecurity, church opposition to the SF's programs challenged the organization's plans for female indoctrination, in particular in the 1960s. Church schools and the SF proved rivals in the realm of female education.
SF authority met with resistance in church schools where the women's branch of the Falange taught its coveted curriculum. Church institutions hindered SF infiltration into religious schools by refusing to cooperate with the state mandates for SF presence in all educational venues. Some ecclesiastical schools replaced SF instructors with religious ones to teach the SF curriculum while others short changed the SF personnel in their schools. These gestures exacerbated the tensions and rivalry between the SF and the church when it came to control of women's education.
Despite church privilege in the Franco regime, the SF, a clear favorite of the state, continually annexed new educational and social duties. The SF acquired new and expanded roles in education and enjoyed a protected position when it came to female instruction.