Revolutionary women in El Salvador : the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, women's organizations, and the transformation of the position of women

Abstract

This thesis looks at left-wing Salvadoran women and the ways in which participation in the civil war of 1979-1992 impacted them to act in the political sphere over the past decade. Beginning with the roots of revolution in El Salvador and the ways in which women came to the revolutionary struggle, I then examine the development of women in leadership positions in the revolutionary army, the FMLN, and the growth of women's organizations. With the end of the civil war and the transformation of the FMLN into a political party and of El Salvador into a functioning democracy, I conclude by measuring the progress of the women's movement overall through legislation dealing with domestic violence, child support, quotas, and abortion.