Women's issues in focus at session with Spanish writer Rosa Montero

The challenges faced by modern women was the subject of a public discussion recently between Spanish writer Rosa Montero and Chinese writer Zhang Yueran at the Cervantes Institute in Beijing.

Giving her take, Montero says that any step forward in the advancement of women's social status is also a big step forward for humankind.

Montero, 67, who has been a journalist since 1970, has published dozens of novels, biographies, short stories and children tales since then. And her books have been translated into more than 20 languages.