The controversial sexist protection within Sagunt's Holy Week celebrations has moved from an internal debate to a serious criminal matter. The Prosecutor's Office has opened criminal investigation proceedings against the Brotherhood of the Purísima Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, following a formal complaint from the Ministry of Equality. This judicial move places the historic brotherhood at the center of an investigation for alleged gender-based discrimination.
The Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, announced the opening of the criminal route, labeling the brotherhood's stance as «discriminatory». Redondo took the opportunity to send a direct message to the ecclesiastical hierarchy ahead of the Pope's imminent visit to Spain, highlighting the «need for brotherhoods to always guarantee equality».
“"The Prosecutor's Office has opened criminal investigation proceedings on the ban of women in the Sagunto brotherhood, which is discriminatory. The Pope's visit to Spain should serve to address issues such as the need for brotherhoods to always guarantee equality."
The Prosecutor's Office's intervention is a direct consequence of the challenge posed by the brotherhood itself last March. In an extraordinary general assembly, a proposal was voted on to replace the term «men» with «people» in the statutes, thereby allowing women to participate in processions. However, the proposal was rejected with 267 votes against and 114 in favor.
This rejection of fundamental rights alerted the Government of Spain, which initiated proceedings to withdraw Sagunt's Holy Week from its title of Festival of National Tourist Interest, a recognition it had held since 2004. Now, the criminal justice system is tightening the noose definitively.
From the collective Semana Santa Inclusiva, its spokesperson Blanca Ribelles, views this step by the Prosecutor's Office as an inevitable consequence of the board's intransigence. Ribelles has denounced that «the brothers had the opportunity to correct this measure in the last vote and decided to continue discriminating», lamenting having to resort to the courts.
The collective states that the ban is not due to a lack of interest, as dozens of women attempt to register each year without receiving a response from the board. For the citizen platform, this judicial and institutional pressure could end «tomorrow» if the brotherhood's leaders applied current legislation and accepted women's registration requests. The institution, founded in 1492, faces the darkest moment in its modern history, answering to the courts for impeding the right to equality in the 21st century.
