Installation Monument to a Mother on Parental Leave

The statue was made by the October Cultural Association in the city of Torrelavega, Cantabria as part of an action to overcome machismo as a persistent relic of the past.

Many people believe that if a woman is on maternity leave or parental leave, she does nothing and is free all day. The Asociación Cultural OCTUBRE decided to dispel this myth and built a monument called “Woman on Parental Leave”.

The creators wanted to convey that in fact this vacation is a great responsibility for the life and health of the long-awaited child: anxiety, nights without sleep, colds, colic. In addition to the joy of motherhood, parental leave is also a multitude of responsibilities that fall on the shoulders of mothers. Only a woman on parental leave knows how to walk up to a mirror and see a sunken face with circles under the eyes and disheveled hair that hasn’t been cut in months.