The Constitutional Court (TC) has acknowledged María Teresita Laborda’s right to join the slavery of Cristo de La Laguna, a prestigious brotherhood within the municipality that only permits male members. Until this point, the Supreme Court had supported these admission criteria. In a judgement released yesterday, the TC, under the report of Judge César Tolosa, accepted an appeal from Laborda against the Supreme Court’s ruling dated December 23, 2021, determining that her rights to non-discrimination based on gender and the right to association had been breached.
For over 20 years, María Teresita Laborda has been at the forefront of a movement advocating for female inclusion in the Slavery of Cristo de La Laguna, which was established in the 17th century as an “association of gentlemen,” prohibiting female participation as stipulated in article 1 of its statutes. In 2020, Laborda opted to take legal action, and both the First Instance Court number 2 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Provincial Court recognised her right to join the brotherhood.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court overturned both lower court decisions, claiming that the appellant’s rights to non-discrimination on the grounds of gender and to association had not been infringed. They argued that as the aims of the brotherhood are religious, it does not hold a dominant position in economic, professional, or labour sectors; thus, Laborda could establish a new religious society with the same aims.
The TC’s ruling conflicted with that of the Supreme Court, asserting that the latter’s conclusion undermines the right to non-discrimination based on gender (article 14 of the Constitution) and the right to association (article 22 of the Constitution).
The TC representative clarified that the exclusion of women from this organisation cannot be justified by claims of religious autonomy, given that the prohibition against women participating is not rooted in any religious or moral rationale.
Therefore, the TC reiterated that while private associations have the liberty to choose their members, this freedom does not permit gender discrimination, especially when the association has a “privileged” or “dominant” status within economic, cultural, social, or professional contexts, thereby presenting a disadvantage to women in those spheres.
The ruling highlighted that this is particularly applicable to the slavery of Christ because, despite the religious nature of the activities from which the appellant is excluded, these actions also bear cultural and social significance.
It was further noted that culture and religion intertwine and are not mutually exclusive, with numerous religious expressions being integral to Spain’s historical and social culture.
Consequently, considering the cultural, social, and historical significance of the worship activities performed by Slavery, aimed at enhancing devotion to the image of Christ of La Laguna, one of the most revered on the Island, the TC concluded that the appellant is unable to engage in similar religious practices in any other brotherhood within the municipality.
Thus, the TC declared that the inability for the appellant to join the slavery solely based on her gender constitutes discrimination that cannot be justified by the association’s right to self-organise.
Upon learning the news, María Teresita Laborda expressed her delight, stating they were “very happy” and would undertake a more thorough evaluation of the judgement later on.
