Ten Years After: Women in Sandinista Nicaragua

by Alicia Giriazzo

Since the defeat of the Sandinistas in the 1990 elections in Nicaragua, both the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) as well as other popular organizations have evaluated their role during the last ten years of the revolution. The following article examines the role of women in Nicaragua during the revolution, particularly the role of the Sandinista women's organization AMNLAE (Association of Nicaraguan Women "Luisa Amanda Espinoza"), and raises the question: "Was the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua also liberating for women?"

In Nicaragua, during the years of the Sandinista revolution, it was generally believed in AMNLAE that the best way of contributing to the liberation of women was to support the revolution, which meant that the problems of women would be resolved by the revolution. In other words, we had to unite our struggle as women to the struggle of men: "Men are not to blame for the problems of women. These problems are inherited from our past. Men are not the enemy; the system is."

One month after the triumph of the revolution in 1979, the FSLN promised to remove all obstacles in the way of equality and full participation in political, economic and social life for both men and women. In fact, the Nicaraguan Constitution is one of the most advanced in Latin America in its recognition of the rights of women including equal pay for equal work, the right to join cooperatives, the equal obligation of both parents to provide for their children, and maternity leave for working women.

The social and economic programs of the Sandinista government also had a great impact, giving women access to health care and education. For the first time women began to participate in a significant way in social and public activities: 60% of the teachers in the national literacy campaigns and 75% of the health promoters in the national vaccination campaigns were women.

The participation of women in politics also increased dramatically during the years of the Sandinista government. Practically all of the members of the neighborhood committees (Comités de Defensa Sandinista) were women. By 1987, 31% of the executive positions in the Sandinista government, 27% of the leadership positions of the FSLN, and 25% of the FSLN's active membership were women.

Women played a greater role in the economic sphere as well. The number of women participating in agricultural production increased considerably, to the point that they comprised one-third to one-half of all agricultural workers. By 1987, 10,000 women had organized in the Farm Workers Association (Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo), and over half of the agricultural cooperatives included women. Women also comprised 37% of the labor force in the industrial sector.

Unfulfilled Promises

Unfortunately, the Sandinistas were unable to fulfill all of their promises. Despite the advances which women made during the years of the revolution, they were unable to achieve equality in Nicaraguan society. This was due in part due to the contra war which limited social programs, but also to internal opposition from the Church---and certain machista ideas of some of the Sandinista leaders themselves.

In the work place the majority of women are not organized in unions, and attempts to organize women in the informal sector---such as domestic workers---have largely failed. The majority of households are still headed by single mothers, and prostitution was never totally eliminated, especially given the economic crisis, low salaries, and the irresponsibility of many fathers. The level of maternal mortality, too, is high: six times as many mothers die in childbirth (three for every thousand births) compared to the level in developed countries.

Most significantly, machismo never really diminished although the discussion about the need for equality did change the attitudes of many of the young people. In general, men continue to contribute less money than women to the support of their families, despite widespread belief that men are the providers and women the caretakers, and despite public recognition of the role which women play in the labor force. Domestic work continues to be the responsibility of women, as is the raising of children, and care for the elderly and the disabled, because the government does not have the material resources to take on this responsibility.

The greater participation of women in the work force adds to the burden on women, because they have no one with whom to share domestic work, and the government is not providing the necessary social services. Moreover, if working conditions are poor, and women are poorly paid or not paid at all, this is but one more instance of oppression and exploitation.

The contra war compounded these still unresolved problems, and deepened the traditional poverty of Nicaraguan women. The health of Nicaraguan children worsened, and campaigns for training health promoters decreased; while the war, political work, and the military draft resulted in men not contributing to domestic responsibilities.

Future Perspectives

The end of the contra war and the change of government in 1990 changed the situation of women in Nicaragua, especially in regard to their participation in economic and public life. Men returned to civilian life and to their former positions, making clear that the participation of women is subordinate to the needs of the whole society. Women are encouraged to join the work force and to learn new skills when there are no men around, or when women can provide cheap or unorganized labor; but when women are no longer needed, society makes a cult of maternity.

It's clear that the equality of men and women will not be achieved simply with new laws, nor with the advent of socialism. In 1985 the U.N. Conference on Women in Nairobi recognized that "for the majority of women in the world, changes in laws have not resolved their problems nor constituted a concrete means of establishing equality."

The work of women continues to be undervalued, badly paid or not paid at all. Even though women do 60% to 75% of all the work in the world, they earn only 10% of the salaries, and own less than 1% of all private property.

During the ten years of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua there were important advances, as well as limitations. Women defended the interests of the Nicaraguan revolution, and did not oppose their own interests as women to those broader interests. However, the specific interests of women should not be postponed forever or ignored, using the argument that responding to the demands of women implies promoting divisions between men and women.

Regardless of the moment in history, particular country or political ideology, women must struggle against domestic violence, rape, and unequal pay for equal work. To characterize these struggles as "counter-revolutionary" or as "feminist fantasies," is grossly unfair. It is a matter of basic justice that women have control over their bodies and have the right to preserve their lives and health. It is above all, a struggle for human dignity.