Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas (review)

Karen Kampwirth's first book, Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba (2002), was praised by reviewers for its systematic and comparative analysis of women's participation in revolutionary movements in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Chiapas during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Her latest work (which she calls a companion volume to the first) expands the scope of this analysis to explore why women activists went on to create autonomous feminist organizations after the guerrilla wars ended.

The two books overlap somewhat, particularly in examining how and why women became revolutionaries in the first place. In the first book, Kampwirth explored in detail the experiences that led women to become guerrilla activists. The second book builds on these case studies to examine post-revolutionary developments, i.e., after the decline of Sandinismo in Nicaragua, after the peace accords in El Salvador, and after the Zapatistas began negotiations with the Mexican government. The focus has shifted from why women joined revolutionary movements to why they became feminists, and what kind of feminism they created. As Kampwirth explains, "This book tells the story of how the guerrilla wars led to the rise of feminist movements, why certain women became feminists as a result of their experiences with the guerrilla organizations, and what sorts of feminist movements they built" (p. 5). The data and analysis Kampwirth offers to tell this story represent a significant and original contribution to the literature on revolution.

Women joined revolutionary movements because of the desire to overcome oppressive conditions, gain skills, and make a difference. They did not join as feminists, but many became feminists as a result of their participation in these movements—essentially because of the contradiction between the organizing skills they developed and the sexism that limited their roles. "This combination of skills and grievances was an explosive one" (p. 12). Although the book does not address the connection, there is a striking parallel between the experiences of these revolutionary women and those of women in the abolition and civil rights movements in the United States. In both cases, women came to identify their own oppression and address their own liberation in the context of activism on behalf of others. In both cases, the contradiction between skills and grievances, between empowerment and oppression, was indeed explosive.

While Kampwirth provides a general framework for understanding the development of feminism in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Chiapas, she also explores the critical differences arising from the particular interplay of history, politics and culture in each nation. Her depth of knowledge and attention to detail are impressive. However, her discussion in these middle chapters would have benefited from fuller summaries or conclusions, so that the crucial elements of her comparisons are more salient. Even those familiar with the many organizations, individuals and/or events that Kampwirth presents might find themselves searching for direction.

Kampwirth sets her research in a broader context by including material on Iran, Poland, and Cuba to show that "there is nothing natural or automatic about the relationship between revolution and feminism" (p. 165). The discussion of these counter-examples is limited but interesting. In all three cases, Kampwirth points out, the old regimes (e.g., the Shah of Iran, Poland's communist government, the Castro regime) were associated with "feminism from above" (p. 191), rather than the grassroots feminism of women activists in Central America and Mexico. This absence of a revolutionary impulse made it likely that an anti-feminist culture would take root, as happened in Iran and Poland, and perhaps will happen in Cuba.

Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution interweaves first-hand observations, interviews, and secondary sources to provide a vivid, credible and textured account of these revolutionary periods. She offers a balanced and nuanced perspective, grounded in a solid understanding of the everyday realities facing women in these countries. Written in an engaging, non-academic style and uncluttered by jargon, the book makes an...