This paper outlines the major roles played by women in the Mexican Revolution and in the Zapatista rebellion. Some of the roles are similar, but most are perceived differently in the two time periods. This reflects changing views on the accepted role of women and the success of the feminist movement during the time between the two events. However, it should be noted that there is an ongoing culture of patriarchy and machismo in Mexico. Any role attempted by women that is outside the traditional subversive role of wife and mother is considered unusual, if not rebellious. While the feminists of the Revolution were trying to overcome the traditional role of timidity and passivity in such urban centers as Mexico City, the Zapatistas are primarily working in rural Chiapas with indigenous populations who have not been exposed to Westernized feminism in the interim.

In the years leading up to the Mexican Revolution an unprecedented amount of women's organizing as well as vocational and educational training in Mexico influenced the various roles played by women during the Revolution. Not only were women active in the Revolution as nurses and aids to male soldiers, as well as acting as soldiers themselves, as in previous Mexican conflicts, but they also offered a distinct intellectual perspective on the Revolution. This new type of activism also influenced the coming growth of feminism in the 1920s and 1930s in Mexico. There were four basic roles filled by women which contributed to the Revolution during the years between 1910 and 1917: the intellectual, the soldadera,the female soldier, and the victim. Some women who were active in the Revolution fulfilled several of the above roles and/or changed roles during the course of the Revolution or in the following years. In addition, there were groups of women who were actively against the Revolution, and generally belonged to Catholic organizations. The Catholic Church held a position strongly in contrast to the Revolution and those women who had strong connections to the Church tended to support its political tendencies. The women of this time period, who were integral to the changes occurring in Mexico, have generally been overlooked by historians. Women falling into any of the categories above are likely to have had a profound impact on the future of their country, but have gone virtually unrecognized, in life and in death, for their achievements. Thus, any current paper written to include the contributions of women to the Mexican Revolution is likely to be incomplete. It can only theorize about the missing histories through the few accounts that were recorded regarding women and their activities.

Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza had many experiences similar to Dolores Jiménez y Muro. She was a trained typographer and an early critic of Porfirio Díaz as a member of the Precursors, calling for an anti-capitalist revolution by Mexico's peasants and workers in the early 1900s. In May of 1901 Gutiérrez founded the newspaper Vesper: Justicia y Libertad which was anti-Díaz and passionately opposed social injustice, particularly in defense of the rights of miners. It also attacked the clergy and stereotypes traditionally assigned to women, while operating in Guanajuato, one of the most religiously conservative states in Mexico. Gutiérrez was imprisoned several times and had her printing press confiscated by the Porfirian regime. Once Madero won the presidency in October 1911, Gutiérrez became disillusioned with his lack of reform and failure to end local political tyranny. She became a supporter of Emiliano Zapata and a combatant in his troops. In 1919, after Zapata had been killed, she began a new weekly in place of Vesper, called El Desmonte, which surveyed the revolutionary panorama from 1900 to 1919. Her perspective was grim, but realistic, and hopeful (Macias, 57). Despite these accomplishments, Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza was also essentially forgotten from written history.

The third woman intellectual I will discuss is Hermila Galindo, who played a significantly different role than the afore-mentioned women. She was best known between 1915 and 1919 as the co-founder and editor of the feminist and pro-Carranza journal Mujer Moderna, and was one of Carranza's most energetic and visible collaborators and propagandists. She represented Carranza at various gatherings in Mexico as well as in Cuba and eventually wrote his biography in addition to at least five other books (Soto, 52). Carranza sought the support of women, as well as workers and peasants, in his bid for the presidency in 1917, and found a willing ally in the young Galindo.

Hermila Galindo was an early supporter of many radical feminist issues such as sex education in the schools, women's suffrage, and divorce (Macias, 66). She was one of the first feminists to bluntly state that the Catholic Church was the main obstacle to the advancement of feminism in Mexico. Furthermore, she was the first to run for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. Although she knew she had no hope of being elected, she wanted to bring attention to the numbers of women seeking suffrage and to set an example for future elections (Macias 65-67).

Galindo's career came to an abrupt end in 1919 for several reasons. While Galindo's feminist ideals were radical even in contrast to most "revolutionaries", Carranza had a record of only acceding to women's demands when he needed their support. Thus, in her association with the politician, his enemies became her enemies and she managed to isolate herself politically. Also, in the elections of 1919, Galindo chose to support a losing candidate to succeed Carranza in the presidency and lost Carranza's confidence, as well as that of the men in power (Macias, 64).

Unlike her contemporaries, Hermila Galindo did not suffer imprisonment for expressing her ideas. However, she did have to face a great deal of hostility, scorn and ridicule from both men and women for expressing unpopular views and for speaking up on subjects which still remain taboo in Mexico. Her willingness to face strong opposition gave heart to the more advanced feminists of her own, and to the succeeding generation (Macias, 68).

There were many additional women who were intellectuals and/or Soldaderas for the Constitutionalist Army, but who questioned Carranza's political views and personal attitude toward women.

Soldaderas who became part of the northern revolutionary armies, such as the Villistas or Carrancistas, either through following their spouses or through desertion from the Federal army. "American journalist Herman Whitaker described how three hundred Soldaderas were left behind by the Federales after the disastrous battle of Paredón in May 1914: 'within twenty-four hours they had all set up new households with Villa's bachelors'" (Reséndez, 537). By mid-1913 the Villistas and Carrancistas had so many camp followers that they relied entirely on them for all foraging, cooking, and camping services and they were invaluable on the battleground (539). One such follower of Villa's army, Beatriz González Ortega, was a nurse who managed to teach Pancho Villa a lesson in mercy. She tended the wounded of both the Federal troops and the Villistas. Pancho Villa was in the custom of executing his prisoners after a triumphant battle, as were most of the guerrilla leaders. However, González burned the tell-tale uniforms of the wounded and refused to make a distinction between Federales and revolutionaries, even after being whipped and threatened with death. Villa eventually treated González with respect. Her courage and humanity are remembered through a school bearing her name in Zacatecas (Macias, 70).

The use of Soldaderas was not limited to the opposition forces, but were also included the Federal army. Women flocked to the army both in response to the great need for their services, but also to accompany their husbands who were often held in bondage for several years under the "volunteer system" (Reséndez, 531). These camp followers chose to supply food and other services to the lower ranks of soldiers, sharing hardships and misfortunes in the field rather than be left alone for long periods during this dangerous time. A certain competition developed among these women to provide a complete food basket with a tablecloth, decorative plates, and a vase for flowers (Reséndez, 530) in addition to caring for children and other tasks. The camp followers, like their revolutionary counterparts, also carried out assignments like spying on the enemy and smuggling arms from the United States (Reséndez, 533).

The early Maderistas and Orozquistas of the north did not bring camp followers to the battlefield because the troops generally remained close to home. Also, the Soldaderas tended to be slow moving and deprived the cavalry units of their much valued swiftness (Reséndez, 528). However, this lack of Soldaderas caused logistical problems when it came to medical needs and obtaining food and ammunition. Provisional support units were often set up by only a few women and some men, to provide nursing, food and other services, but were often insufficient and diverted soldiers from fighting (Reséndez, 528).

The Zapatistas also did not have large contingents of "camp followers." Instead, the southern fighters maintained a relationship with the neighboring villages which was essential for their survival. Most women were better prepared to aid the troops from their homes and gave tortillas voluntarily to the rebels through village officials who collected tortillas for the Zapatista soldiers (Reséndez, 534). This supply line was so vital that "the whole strategy to stamp out the rebels was often directed against the women" (535). However, like the Maderistas, the lack of support from camp followers kept the Zapatista forces from being effective if they traveled too far from home, and they were not so successful outside of Morelos.

Some of the writings about women in the Mexican Revolution do not distinguish between "Soldaderas" and "female soldiers" (Soto; Macias). However, according to Reséndez, as stated earlier in this paper, the smaller population of female soldiers had a very different role than the larger group of Soldaderas, camp followers, or women otherwise providing support services to the troops. Female soldiers, in many cases, virtually gave up their identities as women to become combatants.

Gustavo Casasola notes that some women joined columnas volantes (flying columns) as soldados rasos (privates) and, if they proved themselves in battle, were made officers and leaders of men. He noted that such women "needed to masculinize themselves completely; both inwardly and outwardly: dress like a man and act like a man; go on horseback, like the rest, be able to endure long marches and, at the hour of combat, prove with weapon in hand that she was no longer a soldadera, but a soldier" (Macias, 73).

While some revolutionary forces, such as the Maderistas and Orozquistas, did not generally depend on Soldaderas, they did have a number of female soldiers who joined their ranks either out of political conviction or protection from other types of violence:

After the outbreak of the revolution a squad of Federal soldiers showed up at the family house looking for rebels. While searching the house an officer tried to rape Angela's sister which resulted in a scuffle that left both the sister and the offending officer dead. Angela's father then fled to the mountains and joined the revolution. Fifteen-year old Angela, fearing further retaliations, decided to put on men's clothes and follow her father to the sierra (Reséndez, 529).

These short-lived (1910-1912) northern bands (the Maderistas and Orozquistas) never created a clear division of labor between the men and the women, unlike the Federal Army, which depended on camp followers for all types of support services, as described earlier, and had almost no known female fighters.

The later bands of northern revolutionaries, such as the Villistas, were actually recruiting both Soldaderas and female soldiers by the year 1913 in order to sustain their military efforts (Reséndez, 540). A literary example of one of these "masculinized" female fighters is La Pintada in Mariano Azuela's novel, The Underdogs. She is contrasted in the novel with the only other main female character, Camila, who I would characterize as a "victim." While La Pintada is not described as dressing as a man, she is treated like a man by the other soldiers in the story, and her actions would be considered within the traditional "masculine" role: drinking, smoking, fighting, and killing without remorse. She is what Macias refers to as a woman "already hardened by a life of misery and degradation before the Revolution, turned vengeful and sadistic during the fighting," (73).

Even from the very beginning of the Revolution, the Zapatistas in the south made use of female soldiers.

Rosa E. King observed the phenomenon of women soldiers among the Zapatistas, and early on in her book she noted that when President Madero met Zapata in Cuernavaca on July 12, 1911, "Zapata arranged a 'review' in his honor". Among the troops were women soldiers, some of them officers" (Macias, 73).

Many of the women soldiers used pseudonyms: La Coronela, La Chata, La Guera Carrasco, and La Corredora. This may have been to conceal their identities, as many were outlaws and leaders of bandit gangs before and during the Revolution. Some had killed to avenge their dead men or conducted raids (Reséndez, 545).

Reséndez points out that many of the female soldiers were likely from a higher social class than the Soldaderas, as she must have needed her own horse, "since it was unlikely that an officer would deprive a male soldier of his animal to give it to a woman," (545). The function of female soldiers was vastly different of that of the Soldaderas, although some of their purposes overlapped, such as spying, carrying messages, and as go-betweens (Reséndez, 547). In addition, some of the "intellectuals" mentioned earlier were also fighters. Juana Gutiérrez de Mendoza fought with the Zapatistas as a colonel even while she continued to edit Vésper (Soto, 48).

One of the most famous female soldiers was Margarita Neri, who became a legendary Zapatista commander. "So many legends surround Neri that she is portrayed as both commanding Zapatistas in Morelos and as cutting off the ears of Zapatistas sent to recruit her. Despite the mass of contradictory accounts, it seems that Margarita Neri was a capable and respected guerrilla commander," (Soto, 45). Macias recounts the not unusual difficulties of officer La Coronela María de la Luz Espinosa Barrera's unusual mannerisms and problems adapting to a socially acceptable lifestyle after the Revolution: "A restless soul, La Coronela became an itinerant vendor of clothing and found it impossible to conform to the accepted female role of passivity and timidity. La Coronela smoked, drank, gambled, and feared no man." (75). Although many female soldiers fought bravely and were killed in battle, and others continued to wear men's clothing and carry pistols long after the Revolution ended, La Coronela was one of the very few who received a pension as a veteran of the Mexican Revolution (Macias, 75). Unlike the Soldaderas, most female soldiers were registered in the army rosters and could climb up in the ranks (Reséndez, 546), but similarly to the Soldaderas, few female combatants were recognized for their contribution, either through military pensions or otherwise, and most died in poverty (551).

The final role filled by women in contribution to the Mexican Revolution is a much more indirect and negatively perceived position. The female victims of the era were not usually willing participants in the Revolution, but encompassed a large portion of the female population. Victims were often would-be Soldaderas whose husbands had left for battle with a band that did not accept camp followers. Some were former Soldaderas that had been left behind when provisions became scarce or their services were no longer needed. Camila, a character depicted in Azuela's The Underdogs, is portrayed as a typical victim of the Revolution who falls in love with a soldier, but is unable to care for herself in the field, or make decisions for herself, and is taken advantage of and eventually killed by La Pintada. Mexican feminism was in its infancy during these years and although women had gained constitutional protection in the workplace, it was rarely enforced (Soto, 65), and formal jobs were hard to come by in the first place (Macias, 75). With a majority of the male population on the battlefield, those women left to care for a home and children were working double duty and often faced the risk of violence with the increasing levels of crime. "With food supplies declining, from 1910 to 1917, to the levels of the late eighteenth century, it is very possible that during the Revolution more than half the female population turned to prostitution in order to stay alive" (Macias, 76). In addition to the increase in prostitution, (3) the Zapatistas were notorious for raping women in the rural regions of southern Mexico.

In her account Esperanza Martínez pointed out that Zapatistas came every night into Azteca to take away some women who gave terrible shrieks as they were carried away. At daybreak the women would be back in their houses. Esperanza Martínez always refrained from asking the victims what had happened, "people would say: why do you want to know? If you want to know, let them take you out tonight!" (Reséndez, 535).

Many women preferred to live the difficult life of the soldadera than be left to suffer the life of the victim. However, food shortages became a problem for troops as early as mid-1914, and Soldaderas in both the revolutionary and Federal armies became a burden (Reséndez, 549). Many of these women, as well as those who had been left behind earlier on, fell victim to the rampant outbreak of violence and poverty that marked the decade between 1910 and 1920. "During the worst years of the fighting, rape followed by murder became as commonplace as the routine shooting of prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of women... died in the gratuitous slaughter that marked the period, or perished as a result of disease, exposure and hunger (Macias, 75).

The brutality of the Mexican Revolution, especially the desecration of churches and abuse of clergy, made many upper and middle-class men and women enemies of the Revolution (Macias, 77). Many felt that the Church stood in the way of the modernization of Mexico. The "intellectual" women described earlier shared these opinions of the Church, as they saw it as anti-feminist. In addition, "the masses flocked to the shrines of the Indian Virgin of Guadalupe and to the Black Christ of Chalma." "Whether there were priests available to say mass or hear confession did not matter much; folk Catholicism could survive without the presence of clergy," (78). Thus, the elites and conservatives were one of the only factions of society who remained formal and orthodox Catholics. The conservative women formed Catholic women's organizations and religious groups. "By mid-1914 there were at least sixteen Catholic women's organizations in Guadalajara made up of teachers, white collar workers, maids, students, and housewives," (80). These organizations were responsible for demonstrations in protest of anti-Catholic acts of the Revolution, including the arrest of clergy-members. However, they often conflicted with pro-Revolutionary demonstrations, which sometimes led to tragic and fatal confrontations (81). However, the political successes of these demonstrations and boycotts led most male revolutionaries to see all Mexican women as a threat to their cause. "The positive contributions of women to the Revolution were ignored while the activities of Catholic women against its leaders were constantly kept in mind," (82). For many decades, women's traditional alliance with the Church was also used as justification to deny suffrage to women, and resulted in conservatives supporting women's suffrage and radicals objecting to it.

Women played important and diverse roles in the Mexican Revolution, which have been largely overlooked by historians. In addition, these roles, in many cases, gave rise to post-Revolutionary feminist organizing. "The long-lasting negative effects of the Revolution on women were devastating: rape, pillage, death of loved ones, and break-up of the family had taken a severe toll. As a consequence, women were forced to organize even further in their efforts to combat sexist injustices and to secure equal rights" (Soto, 65). In the years following the Revolution, significant gains were made for women in the areas of education, leadership, labor, family relations and basic human rights.

This statement, made in reference to the presentation of the Revolutionary Laws of Women (4), by the most well known leader of the current Zapatista rebellion (ongoing since 1994), is representative of the respect and acknowledgment that the women in the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) have earned. When these laws, demanding equality and justice for women, were presented to the leadership committee of the Zapatista Army, they were ridiculed by many of the men present, but met with singing and applause form the women in the group. The laws were passed. It is apparent that, just as the Zapatistas have risen up against an unjust and subordinating government, the women Zapatistas have risen up against their own unjust and subordinating communities. In addition to fighting alongside the men in their challenge to the Mexican government, the women of the EZLN have chosen to challenge the men of the EZLN with their own ideology of democracy, justice and liberty for all people. However, when the men are confronted with the reality of no longer being allowed to hit their wives, sell their daughters, or treat women as virtual slaves, the men found that these standards are not so easy to live up to. In many ways, the situation of women within the indigenous communities of Chiapas can be compared to the position of indigenous men within Mexican society as a whole (Bedregal in R. Rojas, 44).

The roles of women both in the EZLN and as a supporting force behind the EZLN have some interesting parallels to the roles of women in the Mexican Revolution. However, as of this writing, the Zapatista rebellion continues and, therefore, has not yet been thoroughly studied, written about, or analyzed. In addition, the Zapatista rebellion has not included ongoing armed conflict, as in the Mexican Revolution. Therefore, the needs of the EZLN have not been entirely similar to those of the soldiers of the Revolution. However, the Zapatistas have reportedly maintained an army of varying size for over thirteen years, and women have also played diverse and significant roles in the rebellion.

The women's contribution to the Zapatista rebellion fall into three categories similar to those of the Revolution: the intellectual, the supporter and the combatant. Not surprisingly, the most information available refers to the women combatants, who are in some ways similar to the female soldiers of the Revolution. The supporters, however, show the most resemblance to the service providers of the Revolution who were not camp followers, but who provided services from their communities, or served as messengers. Intellectuals, however, are comprised of a much larger group that encompass even international support for the global feminist movement. Female victims, however, as described in the section on the Mexican Revolution, are not present as a result of the Zapatista rebellion. On the contrary, the victims produced by the current conflict are largely a product of the Federal Army, or those in support of it, and were present long before the Zapatista uprising on January 1, 1994.

Various conferences and conventions have been held since the 1994 uprising to discuss local, national and international issues of democracy, justice and liberty. This has been a major channel for participation of women to discuss gender issues related to the Zapatista women as well as women's roles in general. On a local level, women have participated in both the Chiapas Conference for Campesinos and Indigenous People as well as the State Convention of Chiapan Women. Almost three-hundred peasant organizations participated in the Conference soon after the 1994 uprising, including several that were exclusively for women campesinas, (5) (Hernández, 68). Some specific needs of women were discussed such as credit for land, participation in organizations and pensions to war widows (68). At the State Convention in May 1995, political, social, economic and cultural demands specific to the women of Chiapas were discussed, and the space in the struggle opened by the EZLN was acknowledged (R.Rojas 1995: 192). Indigenous women have also been active in the Peace with Social Justice marches organized in the municipalities that have been affected by the conflict (68). At these marches, women have been able to discuss issues of poverty and single motherhood, as well as other gender-specific problems.

On a national level, in Mexico, even more conventions have been organized and covered the issues of the Zapatistas, including the issues of rural indigenous women. The EZLN organized the National Democratic Convention in August 1994 and over 6,000 people attended from dozens of countries around the world. Women's and feminist issues were only some of the vast topics discussed at the convention. However, women from 25 non-governmental organizations articulated the needs of women in Chiapas and formed the Convención Estatal de Mujeres Chiapanecas (Chiapas State Women's Convention). This group continues to work with indigenous women and to develop links with feminist groups in Mexico City and provide education for indigenous women. "This is the first independent statewide women's network in Mexico and also the first large-scale organization of indigenous women" (Stephen, 97).

The participation of Zapatista women in various conventions and conferences in Mexico has served to raise the consciousness of rural women about feminism as well as to inform other women about the issues of the Zapatistas. The women Zapatistas who participate in these gatherings are, generally, uneducated indigenous women who live in poverty. In addition, most of them are also trained as combatants and are leaders within the EZLN. Because the Zapatistas are not currently in combat with the Mexican Army, there is an opening for the women Zapatistas to create some consciousness about their struggle. This exchange of information has created a culture of intellectualism and activism regarding women's issues, including those of the Zapatista women. In addition, the women of the Zapatistas have served as an inspiration (6) and redirected the focus of many people to feminism in Mexico.

As supporters of the Zapatistas, women have been active not only as soldiers, but even more so within the indigenous communities. The support of women in the communities has been vital to the communication and security of the EZLN (R.Rojas 1994: 31). As women and men left the communities to join the forces of the EZLN, the separating line between the combatant forces and the civilian forces became unclear (ÁZapatistas! 293). As the level of consciousness regarding the Zapatista movement increased in the communities, Marcos recounts also the children's change in behavior:

Before the war, the girls played about what they were going to be when they grew up-and now even more. That instead of getting married, they are going to the mountain to make their lives, to learn Spanish. This is almost impossible for an indigenous woman, to learn Spanish, and how to use a weapon-that's a big jump. (Ross, 282).

The women of the indigenous communities, many of whom were not able to leave their families to become soldiers, are responsible for a variety of tasks including advising their communities if there is danger from the military, caring for children whose parents are combatants and organizing study groups, as well as the voluntary task of sending food and supplies to the EZLN. Through working with the Zapatistas to provide these services, it is inevitable that these women's consciousness will be raised in regards to the ideology of the Zapatistas, as well as their heightened contact with people both within and outside of their communities.

This supporter role can be loosely associated with the role of the women supporting the Zapatista soldiers of the Mexican Revolution who depended on the community women for food and other types of support services, as described earlier. During the Revolution, Carranza attempted a "'resettlement' strategy which consisted in burning villages to the ground and forcing the residents to disperse into the hills eliminating, once and for all, the supply points of the insurgents" (Reséndez, 535). This tactic sounds disturbingly like that used by the Mexican military against the Zapatistas in February of 1995. Several Chiapan indigenous villages were attacked and destroyed while their inhabitants fled to the hills and lived in caves for several weeks.

The other role of community women associated with the revolutionary Zapatistas, however, that of the victim of rape, does not apply to the current Zapatista movement. On the contrary, many young women leave their communities to become Zapatista combatants in order to escape abuse at home. "Isadora" describes her reasons for joining the Zapatistas at age thirteen: "I spoke with Subcomandante Marcos and told him that if they didn't accept me, I would not rest until I was in the army, or else I'd die of the beatings from my uncle" (Katzenberger, 37).

Many of the soldiers in the EZLN joined as young teenagers. Many of the women who joined the Zapatistas at such young ages joined not only in defense against the local Guardias Blancas (7), or for the ideals of the Zapatistas, but also in self-defense against forced marriage and physical abuse. Thus, women and girls, in many cases, had to overcome obstacles, such as defying their families' wishes, simply in order to join the EZLN. Most joined without the permission of their families.

"In the war, it's all equal," claims Captain Irma. "Now we cook the food and wash the clothes together. We fight the war together." (Ross, 289). From within the EZLN it seems that equality along gender lines has advanced at an amazing rate. The customs that are practiced in the indigenous communities, such as forced marriages, married women not being allowed to dance, and domestic chores belonging only to women, are abolished when combatants go to live in the mountains.

The members of the EZLN are, on average, very young and there are also many romances on the mountain. Women and men are allowed to have sexual relations freely, even outside of marriage, and women are strongly encouraged to follow a birth-control method (8) (ÁZapatistas! 304). Pregnancy is not allowed on the mountain. Women combatants who become pregnant must choose between going to town for an abortion or leaving the Army to have the child (305). Abortion is illegal in Mexico, and is therefore difficult to obtain safely without a significant amount of money. However, the Zapatistas have somehow found a way to ensure, within reason, safe and free abortions for female combatants (306). This arrangement, which must have been difficult to organize, shows the extent of the dedication of the EZLN to its female combatants. Due to the extreme conditions in which the combatants live, pregnancy could easily have been used to weed out female combatants if they were not valued. Ironically, while they have free access to birth-control and abortion, many female combatants want the right to choose to become pregnant while remaining in the Army. While this may seem illogical to outsiders due to the rigorous routine of a combatant, many women claim that a soldier's life is not as demanding as that of a woman living in a village. The compañeras continue to fight for their right to become pregnant (306).

This raises another interesting contrast to the female soldiers of the Mexican Revolution. As noted earlier in this paper, female soldiers were forced to give up their identities as women in order to become soldiers, to masculinize. They were considered genderless-neither truly male, nor female. However, while the current Zapatista soldiers may not have a division of labor on the battlefield, combatants are distinctly male and female, as shown by the Zapatista's attention to women's issues such as abortion.

While many similar positions are filled by women in the Zapatista movement as in the Mexican Revolution, the perceptions of these roles are somewhat different. For example, the jailing of progressive intellectual women, such as Dolores Jiménez y Muro or Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza might not be such an acceptable tactic for the Mexican government to use. However, such repressive and terrorist measures as harassment and rape of activist women by para-military government supporters go virtually uninvestigated and unpunished. (9) This type of situation creates a culture of fear made up largely of those women who might have fulfilled the "victim" role during the Mexican Revolution. However, in this case, the victims are not created by the rebel army.

The role of "camp follower" is not applicable to the current Zapatista movement because the Zapatistas do not travel such long distances and are not currently engaged in armed warfare. However, many of the services provided by Soldaderas continue to be the role of women in Chiapas. It appears that the perception of the role of the female soldier has changed the most since the Mexican Revolution. While it is still somewhat unacceptable according to the majority of people for women to become soldiers, the treatment and perception of women as women within the EZLN is very different.

In addition to the roles of women during this two eras of conflict, the long-lasting impression upon the progression of feminism has and will be affected by the women participating and affected by conflict. The women of the Revolution had a profound impact on the beginnings of feminism in Mexico, and the women of the Zapatistas have captured attention and gained results on both local and international levels.

(1) Soldaderas are also called galletas -- "cookies" (Soto, 43) or "camp followers" (Reséndez, 526). The terms "soldadera" and "camp follower" are used interchangeably. Back to text.

(2) I also use Reséndez FuentesÕ differentiation in this writing to distinguish between "soldaderas", who acted as support to the soldiers by cooking, nursing, spying, smuggling, etc. and "female soldiers" who participated in combat. The two roles rarely overlapped. Back to text.

(3) Prostitution was generally an urban phenomenon, but there were also many prostitutes who served the troops, and could also be considered "camp followers". Back to text.

(4) See Appendix I. Back to text.

(5) It should be noted that Neil Harvey lists only 3 organizations exclusively for campesina women in his article entitled, "Las organizaciones sociales ante el conflicto armado de Chiapas" This suggests that more womenÕs organizations may have either been formed or become more accessible since the 1994 uprising. Back to text.

(6) Particularly inspirational to the womenÕs movement is Comandanta Ramona, who has become a symbol of struggling women. Back to text.

(7) The "white guards" are the ranchers' private militias. Back to text.

(8) Women are responsible for birth-control because the most widely used method is the pill. Condoms are not as readily available and are used when the pill makes the woman sick (ÁZapatistas! 307). Back to text.

(9) The rape of Cecilia Rodríguez, representative of the Zapatista movement in the United States, while visiting Chiapas in October 1995, is an example of this type of repressive, terrorist action. In addition, dozens of indigenous women are continually harassed and raped by federal soldiers and para-military members with impunity (Amnesty International, 1996). Back to text.

Amnesty International. "Overcoming Fear: Human Rights Violations against women in México." http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aipub/1996/AMR/24100996.htm

Azuela, Mariano. The Underdogs. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992.

Hernandez Castillo, Rosalva Aida. "Reinventing Tradition, The Women's Law." Akwe:kon Journal 11 (Summer 1994): 67-70.

Katzenberger, Elaine (ed.). First World, Ha Ha Ha! The Zapatista Challenge. San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1995.

Macias, Anna. "Women and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920." The Americas 37, 1 (July 1980).

Marcos, Subcomandante. Shadows of Tender Fury: The Letters and Communiques of Subcomandante Marcos and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1995.

Reséndez Fuentes, Andrés. "Battleground Women: Soldaderas and Female Soldiers in the Mexican Revolution." The Americas 51, 4 (April 1995).

Rojas, Rosa (ed.). Chiapas ÀY las Mujeres Que? Tomo I. México D.F.: Centro de Investigación y Capacitación de la Mujer A.C., 1994.

Rojas, Rosa (ed). Chiapas ÀY las Mujeres Que? Tomo II. México D.F.: Centro de Investigación y Capacitación de las Mujeres A.C., 1995.

Ross, John. Rebellion from the Roots: Indian Uprising in Chiapas. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995.

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