History is made as Spain appoints first female black MP

Rita Bosaho

Born in Equatorial Guinea, 50-year-old Rita Bosaho moved to Spain more than three decades ago, working as a nurse before she made the jump to politics. Motivated by what she calls an “obsession” for human rights and worried about what kind of world she was leaving behind for her child, she decided to add her name to the list of Podemos candidates in the coastal city of Alicante. “It’s a window that’s open to the future,” she said of her party.
The amount of attention she has received in recent weeks has surprised her, she told Spanish news agency Efe. “Why is it so striking that a black woman could end up in parliament? What does that say about us all being integrated?”
The dearth of diversity in Spain’s institutions, she said, comes down to a lack of opportunities. “It’s a structural problem that needs to be put in context, looking at the social panorama of Spain.”
Known in Alicante for her activism in gender issues, one of her goals is to push the central government to do more to address violence against women and raise the profile of women in government. “We talk about rights and equality and the constitution protects us,” said Bosaho. “But what happens with institutional representation or women in business? Why aren’t our voices being heard there?”
Sunday’s election saw a record number of women voted into the country’s lower parliament, with about 138 female MPs as compared with the 125 women elected in the 2011 general election. Gender parity, however, remains a way off for Spain’s parliament, with women only making up 39.4% of MPs

Source: The Guardian