Throughout human history, political struggle has been the result of years of oppression under authoritarian regimes. The political struggle has been channeled through various methods, such as voting the leaders out in elections for democratic nations, demonstrations and uprisings, along with revolutions to overthrow the sitting governments and establish a new social order. Latin America served as a hotbed of political struggle and movements in the late twentieth century in Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Chile. However, the majority of these movements have remained reserved for men, and few female participants have been reported. However, the revolutionary movement in Nicaragua through the leadership of the Sandinista National Liberation Movement (FSLN) was characterized by the huge participation of female members, and this phenomenon was unprecedented (Bunten, 2008, pg. n.a). This unprecedented involvement of women was surprising and drew interest in forming this paper on this movement.
In this critical research paper, we will explore the liberation movement in Nicaragua, focusing on the role of women and the reasons for their huge participation. This paper is a journey into the liberation of women in Nicaragua, which serves as a symbolic representation of social movements for females. Situated within course themes of socialism, militarism, empire, migration, gender roles, democracy and U.S. interests, this analysis seeks to reveal the structural consequences as well as implications of this process. Critical analysis is grounded in academic sources providing clear interpretation within a family and historical context to help explore the issue further. This paper aims to link family histories to national movements by analyzing women’s activism in a broader context. Entering into the inwardness of individual stories and an outward view of collective action, we shed light on the Women’s Liberation Movement as a progenitor of lasting change that prompts reflections upon an unrelenting quest for justice across Latin America.
Structural Impacts of Women’s Participation in the Liberation Movement in Nicaragua
The major liberation movement in Nicaragua was the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which sought to overthrow the dictatorship regime led by the Somoza family, which had been leading for over four decades. The movement would ultimately overthrow the family in 1979. It was unique in that women’s participation was between 20-30%, along with their active participation in the recruitment struggle and armed struggle (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 42). One of the movement’s most important contributions is gender role reframing, leading to an atmosphere in which women’s agency and equal rights became defining principles. The movement proved to be productive activism through the issuance of policies that fought for gender equality and women’s participation in various fields, as witnessed in the mountains where women guerillas died like men alike with no designation on roles such as cooking and cleaning guns. While this comes off as a rebellious act by women, the circumstances at that time made it inevitable for women to join the armed struggle.
The Somoza family ascended to the throne in 1934 following the assassination of Augusto Sandino through Anastasio Somoza Garcia, who was an officer in the National Guard that had been reinstated following over three decades of US Marines occupation of Nicaragua (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 8). The new dictatorship sought to appeal to the masses, especially women and peasants who form the conservative group in any nation. For instance, the government sought to give the masses something in return for their loyalty in the form of Clientelism, in which women were granted voting rights in 1955. In the Presidential campaign in 1966, Anastasio Somoza paraded himself as a champion for the rights of Nicaraguan women through the Liberal Nationalist Party (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 28). However, the country was undergoing a period of Socioeconomic changes that saw the peasant farmers lose their land as Agro export crops were prioritized. This resulted in landlessness in the rural areas and mass poverty.
In addition, most men opted to migrate into the urban centers where they left the women to provide for the children, and this abandonment would serve as the crucible for political involvement and a second wave of women migration into the urban centers. The Somoza family and other wealthy families were the beneficiaries of this paradigm shift in agriculture as they owned huge tracts of land and plantations. For instance, the Somoza had acquired 46 coffee plantations and 51 cattle ranches and thus stood to benefit from exports. By 1971, small farms accounted for 2.2% of all farmland (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 35). The women would eventually opt to move into the urban areas and form the workforce in an attempt to raise sufficient income to feed their children. The change was drastic, with women forming 29% of the workforce compared to 14% in 1950 (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 24).
The competition for jobs in plantation farms was heightened, and food prices rose due to the overconcentration of cash crop farming. Thus, the traditional gender roles gradually disintegrated as women formed the labor force, which increased their community participation and political involvement (Howe, 2007, pg. 230). In the urban areas, the societal inequalities were clear as the wealthy tended to live in the urban areas, and this comparison ignited a political struggle to address the dysfunction of society. In the urban centers, it was also easier to organize owing to population concentration as compared to the rural areas where people are sparsely populated. Also, the observed sexism in Nicaraguan society in the early 1970s made women appear as less of a threat when purges and captures of those involved in guerrilla mobilization were targeted.
Demands and Goals
The underlying grievances behind women’s participation in the FSLN was the concentration of land among the wealthy class, leaving the peasants landless and poor as they resorted to providing labor in plantation farms. Thus, the movement aimed to address the issue of social inequality and ensure equitable redistribution of factors of production such as land. The socioeconomic changes had resulted in the disintegration of the family structure, with the number of single-women-headed households increasing as men moved to towns, thus abandoning their families. It became apparent that the government gave with one hand and took with the other. For instance, voting rights had been granted to women. Still, the loss of land during agricultural reorganization was too hard to bear (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 30). In addition, gender roles that had women needed redress as women understood that they stood to suffer whenever men failed in their role of providing for their families leaving women in a worse financial situation and children to fend for. Mass poverty had impaired access to basic social amenities such as maternity, resulting in morbidities and increased mortality during childbirth, and they wanted this to be addressed.
Course Themes
Militarism
The Somoza family had initially ascended to power through Anastasio Somoza, who was an officer in the National Guard following the assassination of Augusto Sandino in 1934. The masses would overthrow the dictatorship through a guerilla fact that was formed, drawing women into the struggle. Organization was common in urban centers, which were densely populated, making it suitable for political organizations. The movement drew lessons from the success of the Cuban revolution, which successfully overthrew the dictatorship of Batista through the leadership of the Castro brothers and Che Guevara. Also, the failure of Che Guevara in Bolivia provided lessons on the need to have the people and women lead the movement were not left out. Leadership positions traditionally reserved for men were also accorded to women in the FSLN and the Counter Revolutionary Soldiers (Comras). The movement served to debunk the traditional gender roles as this designation was not applied, with roles being shared among men and women alike without discrimination. Women’s participation in military organizations was fueled by the ready availability of disgruntled women who had been freed from many traditional constraints and were willing to embark on community participation and revolution.
Socialism
This refers to the economic model and structure of society such that the means of production are owned by the community as a whole. The concentration of land among the wealthy political class in Nicaragua, following socioeconomic modification, resulted in landlessness and mass poverty as they were unable to raise income. The FSLN assumed a socialist political agenda as it advocated for social justice through land redistribution along with equitable political participation. In addition, there was an emerging liberation theology that had resulted from Vatican II ideas and conferences held in Medellin, Colombia, that called for everyone to be involved in working for God’s kingdom on earth (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 35). Some of the major ideas in this Christian theology called for dialogue with the world and confrontation of the prevailing circumstances for all. These ideas found a ready audience in Nicaragua following years of political oppression and authoritarian government. The Christian base communities formed a fertile ground for recruitment into the political movements as the new theological principles had radicalized them, and they were receptive to participating actively in political struggle.
The movement relied on mass mobilization, shifting away from traditional guerilla organizations that relied on small groups to form the vanguard of the movement. In this movement, everyone had a role to play, and women were no exception. The women were regarded as equals, and this resulted in all members of the society pulling together to actualize change in the political arena. Women participated as guerrilla fighters throughout the Sandinista Revolution, which challenged the age-old gender stereotypes. The FSLN concerned itself with the emancipation of women and banned their reification for capital gain. Though the process proved difficult, women’s empowerment continued expanding prospects for gender relations.
Empire
The socioeconomic reorganization of agriculture left all forms of meaningful political participation in the hands of the wealthy class. Also, men remained dominant in the patriarchal society, leaving women as passive participants in leadership positions and majorly performing traditional gender roles. Thus, women’s organization and participation in the FSLN sought to topple the existing empire and create an equitable society free from traditional gender roles where opportunities were accessible. The Somoza family had created an empire by creating leadership for over 40 years, and women’s organizing sought to topple this empire. The powerful government had made it hard for peasants and women to ascend to higher positions in society.
U.S. Interests
The United States had vested interests in Nicaragua, which were evident with the presence of the US Marines in the three-decade occupation that culminated in the assassination of Sandino in 1934 and Anastasio Somoza ascending to power (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 15). He was an officer in the National Guard that we had formed, and this underscores their willingness to have him form the government. The United States had assisted in the toppling of Sandino’s regime. Women’s organizing in the later years of the 1970s also received support from the feminist movement in the U.S., along with financial assistance from the Ford Foundation and the World Bank, and this displays where U.S. interests lie at different periods.
Migration
Migration from rural areas to urban centers was a catalyst for the eventual revolutionary movement that was witnessed in later years. Agricultural reforms in favor of export agriculture and cash crops had resulted in peasant farmers being pushed out of their farms. The landlessness in rural areas caused migration to towns such as Managua to seek jobs (Kampwirth, 2015, pg. 40). The first phase of migration comprised primarily of men, and they left their wives to fend for the kids. The economic crisis in rural areas forced women to migrate to towns to join the labor force and earn income to provide for their families. Political participation and consciousness increased as societal inequalities became crystal clear, and this resulted in political organizations forming a force to agitate for freedom (Chinchilla, 1990, pg. 379). Towns became densely populated, making it easier to recruit members for the struggle. Thus, migration provided a fertile ground for women organizing in Nicaragua as they were freed from traditional gender roles and were willing to join the struggle.
Gender Roles and Feminism
The existing societal organization had women performing traditional gender roles such as cooking, childcare, and staying at home while men worked to provide for families. Feminism advocated for equal treatment of all genders, which meant that women would seek employment and earn income. Also, socioeconomic organizations left women as heads of families, and the tough economic situation was too hard to bear, forcing them to migrate to the urban centers. Thus, the traditional gender roles served a massive blow as women sought employment and organized in struggle as the cost of living rose and competition for available jobs in plantations heightened.
Structural Impacts
The FSLN in Nicaragua was the first in which women played an active role of such magnitude, as they formed close to 30% of the members of the movement. The movement served to debunk existing gender roles as it became clear that women had a role in nation-building and exempting them was not doing justice to society. It also eroded the representative role in politics, and women actively participated in championing their interests in childcare, divorce and emergent issues like fertility control. The movement would gain recognition as New Roles for Sandino’s Daughters. The movement culminated in the overthrow of the Somoza family from power, which set a new social order in governance in Nicaragua (Randall, 1981, pg. n.a).
More importantly, the Women’s Liberation Movement left deep marks in Nicaraguan society through the structural alterations to the gender construct in a revolutionary setting. Visible results from such activism include gender policies and women’s alternative centers. The contribution of the international feminist network in terms of resources and support has also been significant since autonomous women’s organizations emerged. The movement’s needs and goals were diverse; they included health concerns, gender role challenges, and the establishment of a space for women to voice their concerns. It is a legacy of women’s activism from one generation to another, transcending national borders and showing powerful thoughts that can be had by any woman moving narratives within societies.
Historical Lessons from Women’s Organizing
The movement underlined the importance of involving women in community affairs as they played a pivotal role in making the revolution and toppling the dictatorship from office. It underlined the shifting gender roles and resonated with the ideas of the feminist movement that advocated for women’s rights and equal treatment to men in workplaces and familial roles. In the movement, women enrolled as guerilla fighters, community organizers and political leaders, thus giving direction to the movement. Today, this serves as a clarion to dismantle gender barriers and encourage women to participate in nation-building and the advancement of civilization. In addition, it underscores how societal issues such as landlessness, political oppression and poverty can serve as the crucible for the advancement of revolutionary ideas, even among traditionally conservative individuals. Also, the power of pulling together and joining forces in to spur social change was evident as they were able to actualize a feat that appeared impossible. The movement would serve as a blueprint for future women’s organizations in Latin America as they drew lessons from the success of this movement.
Lessons Today on Human Rights
The role of women in political organizing in Nicaragua provides lessons on the significance of providing an equitable environment and access to opportunities for individuals to advance their goals. Women and peasants are thought of as the conservatives in any nation, but they can also turn to be radicals if the right circumstances or conditions arise. The dictatorship tried to display benevolence towards women by emphasizing women’s rights in their political rhetoric, but this was unable to deter the revolution. Thus, the need to undertake real change to address the social issues that address society becomes the surest means to ensure peace and stability. Handouts and clientele are useless if the underlying social issues are not addressed. Today’s movements should be inclusive and leave no one behind by including women from diverse backgrounds in their endeavor to advocate for change, as unity is strength. Also, mass mobilization appears to be the surest means to leverage change as it fosters collective bargaining.
In conclusion, women’s organizing in Nicaragua was the pioneer of how to integrate women in political struggle and exposed the downsides posed by traditional gender roles in society. The movement received transnational solidarity from feminists in the U.S., along with financial assistance from philanthropists like the Ford Foundation and the World Bank. This highlights the role of creating trans-border networks and connections that offer a helping hand when faced with challenges. The tools underscore the role of mobilization in advocating for redress to modern-day challenges facing women in the U.S. and Latin America, such as abortion rights, gender-gap pay at workplaces, equality, and social justice to help address the years of discrimination faced by women. For instance, women should come together across the political divide, either on the left or right, to address inequalities such as the gender gap in workplaces to ensure change. In addition, it highlights the challenges faced by women in times of conflict as they resort to migration as they are more vulnerable than men and have children that they should take care of.
Works Cited
Blackwell, M. (2023). Scales of resistance: Indigenous women’s transborder activism (p. 386). Duke University Press.
Bunten, L. A. (2008). Mobilizing Women: Gender, Revolution, and Counter-Revolution in Nicaragua since the 1970s (Doctoral dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Dept. of History).
Chinchilla, N. S. (1990). Revolutionary popular feminism in Nicaragua: Articulating class, gender, and national sovereignty. Gender & Society, 4(3), 370-397. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124390004003007
Howe, C. (2007). Gender, sexuality, and revolution: Making histories and cultural politics in Nicaragua, 1979-2001. Gender, sexuality, and power in Latin America since independence, (3), 230.
Kampwirth, K. (2015). Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba. Penn State Press.
Randall, M. (1981). Sandino’s daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan women in struggle. Rutgers University Press.
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