N9V TV
Organisers of the 19th annual Carrera de la Mujer race in Madrid have come under fire for offering ‘sexist’ prizes to female runners.
The organisers were called out for presenting the winners of the race kitchen appliances and low-fat food products, sparking criticism from politicians and social media users online.
The controversy began after the race, which involves over 30,000 runners, took place on Mother’s Day, with Serbian Ivana Zagorac taking first place in a time of 24 minutes and 7 seconds.
However, it was the prizes given to the winners that caused outrage, with the race’s sponsors donating a Thermomix kitchen robot to the first-place winner and low-fat food products to other runners.
The Spanish Ministry of Equality was quick to criticise the gifts, describing them as ‘sexist.’
Spain’s secretary of state for equality, Rodriguez Pam, tweeted her disapproval of the prizes, stating: ‘If you win: housewife and if not at least you’ll lose weight.’
Politician Alejandra Jacinto also chimed in on the controversy.
‘Machista [male chauvinism] is that gifts to women have to do with housework,’ she said.
‘Public policies must serve to prevent women from being the ones who do these tasks mostly.’
Despite the outcry, the race’s organisers initially defended the gifts, claiming that they were intended to promote healthy nutritional habits among female athletes.
However, they later issued a statement apologising for any offense caused.
‘We regret that a test in which 32,000 women have participated, which has been ‘promoting healthy lifestyle habits and sport among women for 19 years, which fights against cancer and claiming the role of women in sport and in society in general, is involved in this controversy that we do not share,’ the statement said.
‘We accept the criticism, we reiterate our apologies if anyone has been offended, and we promise to take measures necessary to avoid this controversy in the future,’ the statement read.
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