ABSTRACT
This chapter begins as a historical review of the development and progress of the revolution in Nicaragua launched by the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) with a particular focus on the women who joined and fought the first battles against the National Guard. The first generation of the revolution included few women, but as it spread in the 1970s many more women joined. Our analysis focuses on the recruitment of women; the organizations formed for female participants; the political socialization of women, which was one arena in which we found clear differences between female and male participants; and the importance of nationalism. Interview data from some of the top female commanders are included in this chapter, as well as information from the historical record and memoirs.
