Francisco Franco and his wife Carmen Polo, who oversaw the Board for the Protection of Women. Photograph: Keystone/Getty ImagesSpain is to formally pardon a group of 53 women who are among thousands who were incarcerated by the Franco regime on the grounds that they were supposedly “fallen or in danger of falling”. The women were locked up as adolescents by the Board for the Protection of Women, a collection of institutions run by religious orders. The board, which had echoes of Ireland’s notorious Magdalene laundries, was overseen by Carmen Polo, the wife of the dictator Francisco Franco. In a ceremony next week, the government will pardon the 53 survivors and recognise them as victims of Francoist repression.

Source: The Irish Times March 10, 2026 20:11 UTC