The Cabildo has released a video that pays homage to the women who worked in Arrecife’s fish packing industry.
Released to mark International Women’s Day today, the video focuses on an industry that provided employment for women from the 1950s to the 1980s. During that period, 90% of the Spanish sardine fleet would use Arrecife as a base of operations.
Five large fish packing factories existed in Arrecife, providing 80% of female employment on the island. One of the main packing centres was named La Garavillas, and was located on the site of Arrecife’s newest shopping centre, Lanzarote Open Mall.
The video features interviews with María and Malena, two of the women who worked in the industry. Sitting on the wall of the Charco de San Ginés in Arrecife’s fishing barrio Valterra, they describe how work conditions were far removed from what is expected today, how men were paid more for the same work and how they were expected to keep house and cook as well as do their tough, monotonous day’s work.
At the launch, Arrecife’s Equality Councillor, Myryam Barros said “These women not only supported much of the island’s economy in difficult conditions, but their inclusion in the workforce was also a huger advance, with important effects on the fight for women’s rights”
The video can be seen here:
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