“Belén” Film screening and debate. The green wave: Feminist movements in LATAM and the road to the conquest of legal, safe and gratuitous abortion in Argentina.…

The 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD) will be celebrated amidst a context of backlash and attacks (both rhetoric and physical) to feminism and movements that fight for gender equality and diversity inclusion. The Argentina Society invites you to a film screening and open debate on the genesis of the so-called green wave with the aim to share how it manifested in different countries and hopefully identify fruitful strategies for other latitudes. 

The screening will be followed by a commentary by our chair, to offer an academic framework from feminist legal thinking and how law can be used for gender equality. Members of LSE Argentina Society will also share their experience from participating in the process, within NGOs, Government positions and social movements which advocated for the legalisation of abortion. 

The movie is based on the true story of Belén (Camila Plaate), detained and prosecuted for abortion after an obstetric emergency in Argentina’s conservative North, and her lawyer Soledad Deza (Dolores Fonzi) who took her controversial defense, giving rise to a new wave in the women rights’s movement. Through her case the film depicts the broader struggle for the decriminalisation and legalisation of abortion in Argentina. 

The fight for Legal, Safe and Gratuitous Abortion constituted a milestone of Argentina’s feminist movement. It paved the way for a green wave - based on the green handkerchiefs symbol - that echoed a calling for sexual and reproductive health and rights across the region. After years of demands, Argentina passed the Law Nº 27.610 on Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy in 2020, being one of the first countries in the region to do so. 

Argentina has long been a pioneer in the promotion and protection of human rights and gender equality. This progress is part of a broader history regarding women and LGBTIQ+ community’s rights, ranging from women’s vote in 1947, to the divorce bill in 1987, the establishment of compulsory comprehensive sexuality education in 2006, a broad definition of gender-based violence in 2009, the typification of femicide in 2012, and the mandatory compliance of training on gender and violence against women for all public officers in 2018. Additionally, equal marriage was approved in 2010, and in 2012 the right to self-perceived gender identity was recognised, including the non-binary identities as from 2021.