Andorra's General Council Displays Embroidered Tribute to 1968 Women's Suffrage Petition

The General Council has incorporated Joana Baygual's embroidered artwork *Ens necessitem totes* ("We Need All of Us") into its art collection, displaying it in the Sala de Passos Perduts near the entrance to the hemicycle. The piece features the 378 signatures from the petition Andorran women presented to Casa de la Vall on 15 May 1968, demanding political rights—a campaign that ultimately secured women's suffrage.

The effort began in the mid-1960s when Quima Calvó, returning from France to run a restaurant in Santa Coloma, encountered obstacles connecting her business to the communal water supply without her husband's approval. Informal gatherings in her restaurant's back room, involving early leaders such as Elidà Amigó, Angelina Mas, Carme Sauquet, Concepció Baudí, Montserrat Jordana, Paquita Mandicó, Joana Cerdà, Carme Travesset and Pepita Aguilar, built momentum for the petition. Each of the 378 signatories needed spousal consent at the time. Women's right to vote was approved on 14 April 1970 and first used in the 14 December 1971 elections, while eligibility to stand for office came with the 1973 communal elections—where Carme Travesset became the first woman elected as a councillor in Escaldes-Engordany.

At the unveiling on Wednesday, General Syndic Carles Ensenyat described the signatures as the final step in Andorra's democratic consolidation. He stressed that the country's constitution and modern democracy would be unimaginable without them, adding that their placement near the hemicycle honours the institution more than the artwork. The piece, he said, strengthens the Council's artistic holdings while highlighting a pivotal moment in the Principality's political and social history. Baygual noted its symbolic arrival "exactly where those suffragettes wanted to reach."

Over four months, Baygual hand-stitched the signatures in gold thread onto large tablecloths measuring 145 by 135 centimetres, referencing Calvó's restaurant. Drawing from a 2011 General Council publication of the originals, she enlarged and reproduced them one by one in precise order. "The hardest part was avoiding any mix-ups or duplicates," she recalled. The work stemmed from Maite Luque's call to local artists—among them Mercè Ciàurriz, Neus Mola, Naiara Galdós, Gemma Piera, Núria Morcillo, Montse Altimiras and Mònica Armengol—for the *Dones clau per a la història d'Andorra* exhibition. That touring display, which covered all parishes last year and appeared in a catalogue, moved visitors who recognised names of relatives or acquaintances. "I wanted people to see themselves in it," Baygual said, summarising her intent as: "Against oblivion, I embroider."

Baygual had not anticipated its permanent home in such a prominent spot. To deepen understanding, the General Council will open a temporary exhibition of era photographs in the Sala de Passos Perduts by late June.