Back to search

1955 Matrimonial Consent Act

Date
1955 - 1995
Archive
Central Archive of the Civil Registry of Barcelona
Document type
Textual
Reference code
CAT ARCBCN RC JMUN04BCN AC 127/1955
Link to the archive
Description

This document includes the consent of a husband, identified as an industrialist resident in Barcelona, ​​so that his 67-year-old wife can travel abroad. Despite her advanced age, Franco’s legislation required married women to obtain marital authorization to perform actions such as travel, work or manage property. This act is a direct testimony of the legal subordination of the woman within the marriage, where the husband exercised legal control over his personal freedom. The document highlights the institutionalization of patriarchy and the denial of fundamental rights to women, even in ages when, in other contexts, full autonomy was enjoyed. It is part of the theme of the “beats of Catalan society” and politics and governance, and is an essential source for understanding power structures and gender inequality during Franco’s regime. Its conservation makes visible the struggles for equality and the dignity of women in the contemporary history of Catalonia.