What Happened to Belén
The Unjust Imprisonment That Sparked a Women’s Rights Movement
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- USD 15.99
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- USD 15.99
Descripción editorial
"There are many women like Belén whose names we don’t know, but whose stories are just as important. An uplifting chronicle of one woman’s fight for justice."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Foreword by Margaret Atwood
The heartbreaking true story of an Argentinian woman wrongfully imprisoned for having a miscarriage—an injustice that galvanized a powerful feminist movement and became a global rallying cry in the fight for reproductive rights.
In 2014, Belén, a twenty-five-year-old woman living in rural Argentina, went to the hospital for a stomachache—and soon found herself in prison. While at the hospital she had a miscarriage—without knowing she was pregnant. Because of the nation’s repressive laws surrounding abortion and reproductive rights, the doctors were forced to report her to the authorities. Despite her protestations, Belén was convicted and sentenced to two years for homicide.
This landmark case is a glaring example of how women’s health care has become increasingly criminalized, putting the most vulnerable—BIPOC, rural, and low-income—women at greater risk of prosecution. Belén’s cause became the centerpiece of a movement to achieve greater protections for all women. After two failed attempts to clear her name, Belén met feminist lawyer Soledad Deza, who quickly rallied Amnesty International and ignited an international feminist movement around #niunamas—not one more—symbolized by thousands of demonstrators around the globe donning white masks, the same kind of mask Belén wore when leaving prison. The #niunamas movement was instrumental in pressuring Argentine president Alberto Fernández to decriminalize abortion in 2021.
Translated by Julia Sanches
In this gripping and personal account of the legal battle and its impact on local law, Ana Correa, one of Argentina’s leading journalists and activists, makes clear that what happened to Belén could happen to any woman—and that we all have the power to raise our collective voices and demand change.
What Happened to Belén is more than a true story; it’s a journalistic investigation into a fight for human rights that reveals:
A Landmark Case for Reproductive Rights: The unbelievable story of how a young woman went to the emergency room for a stomachache and was sentenced for homicide after having a miscarriage she didn't know about.The Fight for Justice: Inside the grueling legal battle led by feminist lawyer Soledad Deza to clear Belén’s name against a repressive legal system.A Global Feminist Movement: How Belén's cause, championed by Amnesty International, sparked the international #niunamas movement and brought thousands into the streets demanding change.The Power of Collective Action: A powerful testament to how grassroots activism and investigative journalism can challenge systemic injustice and ultimately pressure a government to change its laws.
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Journalist Correa debuts with the harrowing story of an Argentinian woman imprisoned in 2014 after a miscarriage (she was falsely accused of inducing an abortion), whose ordeal ignited a movement to legalize abortion in Argentina. Correa's account is based on in-depth interviews with the woman, known by the pseudonym Belén, and with Belén's lawyer, Soledad Deza, who became aware of Belén's ordeal two years into her imprisonment. Shocked to learn a woman was actually imprisoned for abortion—in Argentina, abortion was technically illegal, but an underground abortion network had long been tolerated—Deza publicized the case, getting many local and international rights organizations involved. The story captured headlines and prompted a surge of feminist sentiment and activism. Belén was exonerated in 2016, and abortion was legalized in Argentina in 2020. Briskly narrated in Sanches's snappy translation, Correa's broader political narrative rests heavily on intimate character studies of Deza, who's depicted as an indomitable champion of women ("Soledad doesn't sleep. She sweeps the city for evidence and contacts. She files claims"), and Belén, whose trauma is hauntingly explored ("Hours pass and night falls again at the women's correctional facility. This is when Belén usually loses hope"). It's a poignant and inspiring account of women organizing on behalf of women.
