San Salvador (AFP)

She spent 10 years behind bars for miscarriage: Salvadoran Teodora Vasquez is one of the protagonists of a documentary that reflects on the plight of women sentenced in this country to heavy prison terms for simply losing their baby.

Directed by Swedish and Salvadoran filmmaker Celina Escher, the 90-minute documentary is titled "Volar lejos" (Flying away) because "after spending so much time locked up, I can fly, I can go far", explains to the AFP Teodora Vasquez, 36 years old.

The film follows some of these fated women ground by the implacable Salvadoran anti-IVG law, which is one of the strictest in the world. It will premiere on September 19 in Sweden, before an international tour, in the presence of the young woman.

Teodora Vasquez was nearly nine months pregnant when she called the ER on July 14, 2007 from the San Salvador College washroom where she was employed.

Not getting an answer, she had suffered a severe haemorrhage and her baby was stillborn. On discovering the corpse, another college employee had warned the police and the young woman, still unconscious, had been arrested.

"Imagine that you are pregnant, you are in the ninth month of pregnancy, you feel intense pain, you faint, when you wake up in the hospital, you are surrounded by police officers, they accuse you of killing your child. ... ", explains the documentarian in his foreword.

The Salvadoran Penal Code officially provides for a sentence of between two and eight years in prison for abortion cases, but in fact, judges consider the abortion or the loss of the baby as an "aggravated homicide", punishable by 30 to 50 years of imprisonment.

Sentenced in 2008 to 30 years in prison for the loss of her baby, Teodora Vasquez had her sentence confirmed in 2017, a decision that had caused a stir. Several international organizations, such as Amnesty International, had lent their support to the young woman who has always proclaimed her innocence.

The following year, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice had finally decided to commute his sentence. She was released on February 15, 2018.

- Stigma -

The director started shooting in 2017 in Ilopango Women's Prison, east of the capital San Salvador, which has 2,229 detainees with a capacity of 1,200.

The film shows Teodora imprisoned, then in his new life, after his release, including his efforts to reintegrate, despite the stigma and discrimination that the former prisoners.

In prison, Teodora, from a modest background, finished her primary and secondary education, obtained many degrees in different fields. She is now a fervent advocate for women's rights.

She is in charge of a project that helps former detainees: medical help, psychological support, legal assistance, cultural activities and help to find a job.

Because having a criminal record drastically reduces the chances of these women to find a job.

"Although we have regained our freedom, society continues to stigmatize and discriminate against us," says Teodora Vasquez, who encourages them to set up their own business.

In recent months, five women sentenced for similar cases to Teodora have been released. But 16 others are still imprisoned after losing their baby.

"Even if these 16 women are released, we will continue the fight because we do not want future generations to end up in prison for an obstetric problem as it has happened to us," warns Teodora Vasquez, awarded the Swedish prize Per Anger for its fight for women's rights.

The severity of Salvadoran legislation had an international impact in 2013 with the case of 22-year-old Beatriz, who had not been allowed to abort a brainless fetus.

After an intervention by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the state finally authorized a caesarean section. The newborn had died after a few hours.

© 2019 AFP