ONE OF the most striking images of the week saw Spain's conspicuously pregnant new minister for defence, Carme Chacón, inspecting troops after her appointment last Monday. She is one of nine women ministers in prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's new cabinet, outnumbering their eight male colleagues.
Mr Zapatero thus confirmed his reputation as the most daring political leader in Europe. He has proclaimed himself not only an anti-machoist but a feminist, saying the "most unfair domination is that of one half of humanity over the other. The more equality women will have, the more civilised and tolerant society will be".
That approach is making a difference in Spain, where women earn about 30 per cent less than men, and take up less than 4 per cent of the places on the boards of major companies. More than 40 per cent of Spanish mothers of young children work outside the home and women make up 36.6 per cent of deputies in the Cortes.
Last year 71 women were killed by their husbands or partners in domestic violence - a problem that will now be tackled by the new minister for equality, 31-year-old Bibiano Aído. She will also be responsible for overseeing implementation of the law passed two years ago prohibiting men or women from making up more than 60 per cent of the candidates of any political party that contests national or local elections - and wants to see by 2010 that any company negotiating for public contracts should appoint women to 40 per cent of their boards of directors. The seven other women ministers include Mr Zapatero's deputy María Teresa Fernández de la Vega and the housing minister Beatriz Corredor.
These changes force society to confront inherited prejudices about gender and political priorities. Spain thereby joins the ranks of the mainly Nordic states which have so far successfully encouraged greater public participation by women with such positive legislation. Predictably these appointments have attracted hostile comment from traditionalist right-wing military, political and media figures; but Spain has travelled a long way towards gender equality, reflecting the country's vigorous modernity and social transformation.
In comparison Ireland lags far behind most European states in the 13 per cent female membership of the Dáil, the 20 per cent Cabinet participation, and the small number of women in senior business ranks. Brian Cowen should include a commitment to improving these ratios in his emerging civic republican programme.