Spanish men will have to learn to change diapers and do dishwashing under the terms of a new law designed to strike a blow. The law, due to be passed this month, is likely to cause a revolution in family affairs in a country where 40% of men reportedly don’t do housework at all. It will oblige men to “share domestic responsibilities and the care and attention” of children and elderly family members, according to the draft approved by the Spanish parliament’s justice commission. “This will be a good way of reminding people what their duties are. It is something feminists (女权主义者) have been wanting for a long time,” said Margarita Uria, of the Basque Nationalist Party, who was behind what is an amendment to a new divorce law. Failure to meet the obligations will be taken into consideration by judges when determining the terms of divorces. Men who refuse to do their part may be given less frequent contact with their children. Spanish women spend five times longer on housework than husbands. Even when both have jobs outside the home, Spanish women still do three times as much work in the house. “It is not just about housework, though,” said Ms. Uria. A study five years ago by Spain’s Center for Sociological Investigation concluded that fathers spent an average of 13 minutes each day looking after their children. Only 19 % of Spanish men thought it was right for mothers of school-age children to have a full-time job. More than a third thought mothers should not work outside the home at all. The Change to the Spanish legal code will see domestic obligations added to a list of marital(婚姻的) duties that currently includes fidelity, living together and helping one another. That should guarantee that, when the law—which will also make divorce proceedings faster and easier—is voted on in parliament in the next few weeks, the obligation to share domestic chores will be added to the statute books. 小题1: What is the percentage of Spanish men who don’t do any housework?
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