ABSTRACT
One of the most remarkable aspects of Central American revolutionary movements is the high degree of active participation by women, who have appeared in liberation struggles in numbers and with responsibilities unprecedented in revolutionary history. The reasons for the significant revolutionary role of women can be best understood in the context of the economic, social, and historical roots of women's oppression in Central America. The majority of Central America's population lives in the countryside, engaged in some aspect of agricultural production. Industrialization almost universally destroys or weakens artisan industries, which are usually in the hands of women. Women undoubtedly raised food for family consumption or exchange and made clothing, pottery, candles, and cooking utensils. The revolution of 1944 was overturned ten years later and with it the "soft line" on industrialization. Counterrevolution and the "hard line" on industrialization took its place.
