Spain to formally pardon 53 women incarcerated by Franco regime

"The board, which had echoes of Ireland's notorious Magdalene laundries, was overseen by Carmen Polo, the wife of the dictator Gen Francisco Franco. Originally founded in 1902 to stamp out sex work, in 1941, two years after the end of the Spanish civil war, its role was extended to clamp down on female behaviour that deviated from norms laid down by the Catholic church."

"A statement from the ministry of democratic memory said that any punishment, whether legal or administrative, they had suffered was null and void as it resulted from the repression and violence exercised by the Board for the Protection of Women for political, ideological reasons or because of their gender."

"The government department set up last year to investigate the board has so far received 1,600 declarations from women who passed through the institutions. One woman was locked up on suspicion of being a lesbian simply because she had written a letter discussing sexuality."

Spain is formally pardoning 53 women who were incarcerated by the Franco regime's Board for the Protection of Women, an institution run by religious orders and overseen by Carmen Polo, Franco's wife. Originally established in 1902 to combat sex work, the board expanded in 1941 to punish women whose behavior deviated from Catholic Church standards. Operating until 1985, a decade after Franco's death, the board imprisoned adolescent girls deemed morally at risk. The government has received 1,600 declarations from women who passed through these institutions. The pardon recognizes that all punishments were null and void, resulting from repression and violence exercised for political, ideological, or gender-based reasons.

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