As an act it sealed the fate of football federation president Luis Rubiales, but the nation’s history of gender politics is a troubled one
It might have been a straightforward national triumph. When Spain won the Women’s World Cup, beating England’s Lionesses in last weekend’s football final, the mood in the country was jubilant. England’s defeat notwithstanding, there was a sense here, too, of pride in how far we had come.
But progress is not always linear, and what was almost an uncomplicated narrative – of another major stride forwards in gender equality – has been overshadowed in Spain, and beyond, by a bitter row over a kiss bestowed by Luis Rubiales, the 46-year-old president of the Spanish football federation, upon Spain’s leading women’s goalscorer, Jenni Hermoso.
The 33-year-old footballer has said the kiss was not consensual, and an internal investigation has been launched by the football federation. Rubiales, who has been suspended, has claimed he is the victim of a witch-hunt by “false feminists”.
The resulting storm has been characterised as Spain’s MeToo moment. “We are with you Jenni” has been trending on social media, along with the phrase “se acabo”. Translation: enough is enough. But the outpouring of anger is in fact a flare-up in an ongoing battle over gender politics in Spain.