Mucho chores for macho men with Spain's new law

[emad]

Dale Fuchs in Madrid
Sunday June 26, 2005
The Observer

Valentin Lopez is lucky he got married in time. The hospital worker says he shares the housework with his wife, but he gropes for examples. 'Well, I clear the dinner table, I wash the dishes and every now and then I make the bed,' he concludes sheepishly.

Were he to marry this summer, López, 45, would need to learn how to iron quickly. Under a reformed civil code, marriage contracts in Spain will include a pledge to share housework, child rearing and care for the elders.

'It's a symbolic gesture, but it sends a message,' said Margarita Uría, the parliamentarian who pushed for the change. 'This isn't about arguing "I ironed two shirts, you ironed one shirt".'

The new clause is expected to win final passage in the Spanish Senate this week - oddly, as part a sweeping reform of the country's divorce law.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1514908,00.html