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The acting Minister of Equality, Irene Montero (Podemos), and the president of the Cortes de Aragón, Marta Fernández (Vox), have starred this Thursday in a tense institutional reception that has taken place at the gates of the Palace of La Aljafería de Zaragoza, headquarters of the Aragonese Parliament.

The minister has come to Zaragoza to participate in a European conference on sexual and reproductive rights, an event organized by the Government of Spain on the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In the previous protocol greeting, Montero and Fernández have not shaken hands, because the president was waiting for her with her arms behind her back and did not move them when the minister approached.

Both have exchanged a few words that have ended with a "welcome to this house" and, subsequently, the president of the Cortes de Aragón has denied the greeting to the Secretary of State for Equality, Ángela Rodríguez.

The now president of the Aragonese Parliament, thanks to the pact between PP and Vox, said at the time that "Irene Montero only knows how to kneel to thrive."

In statements to the media, the minister explained that "I have greeted her and told her that she was delighted to be able to meet here today at an event to defend, precisely, the right to abortion, the right to sex education and feminist rights, which I think is what Spanish society is demanding and that its institutions support all women. "

Montero added that "we have made the protocol greeting and, as I say, I think it is very good that also those who deny women's rights can be representing from the institutions that defense of feminist rights; It is the best democratic vaccine against those who deny women's rights and is that today they have to be here defending the right to abortion, the right to sex education and sexual and reproductive rights", that is, "democracy and feminism against the deniers of sexist violence".

The conference The effective guarantee of sexual and reproductive rights in Europe is attended by representatives of various European governments responsible for equality and human rights policies.

Roundtables entitled Abortion and sexual and reproductive health and New sexual rights and sex education have been organized, with the participation of eight activists from several EU countries.

They will be moderated by the Secretary of State for Equality and against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez, and by the director of the Women's Institute, Ana Varela.

Among the participants in this European meeting, which will culminate with the reading of a manifesto, are the executive director of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF), Neil Datta; members of the Czech organization Vzájemné souití (Living together); Elena Gorolová and Sri Kumar Vishwanathan; the president of Stop Violències, Vanessa Mendoza Cortés; and the leading national expert on gender-based violence at the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) Agata Iwona Szypulska.

In addition, the deputy director of SEDRA-Spanish Federation of Family Planning, Raquel Hurtado; the jurist specialized in Human Rights, strategic litigation and legislative development, Adilia de las Mercedes; legal counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), Keina Yoshida; and the member of the Executive Committee of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS), Felipe Hurtado Murillo.

  • Irene Montero
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  • Can
  • Saragossa
  • Government of Spain
  • Ministry of Defence