Patch and writing by Hannah

Autonomy.  What an important concept – for nations, for movements, for women.  Nicaragua is the Latin American country closest to my heart, for the simple fact that I’ve spent more time there than anywhere else in this hemisphere (with the exception of the United States).  The Nicaraguan feminist movement has a complex and inspiring history, and in this patch I’ve chosen to capture one of the defining moments in the life of the movement – a crucial and conscious act of autonomy from the FSLN, the Sandinista party.  But first, some history…

When the socialist Sandinista party took power in 1979, they immediately enacted social programs that truly benefited a majority of the Nicaraguan people (literacy programs, healthcare, land reform, etc.).  Women’s rights became a priority, and AMNLAE (the Nicaraguan Women’s Association “Luisa Amanda Espinoza”) became the official Sandinista women’s organization.  The FSLN implemented policies of equal pay for equal work, equal responsibility for childcare, prohibition of the “commercial use of women’s bodies as sexual objects in advertising or in the media,”[1] and more.  The biggest gain could very well have been the consciousness that many women formed throughout the decade of the Revolution. 

By the end of the 1980s, some women were annoyed at the FSLN for maintaining the attitude that the Revolution comes first, and everything else second (including the “feminist agenda,” especially when it was a little too radical for the Sandinistas).  Still, the strong ties the movement continued to have with the FSLN made the 1990 electoral defeat a shock and moment of confusion for women.  Would they remain affiliated with the FSLN?  Would they split and enhance their own agendas?  Not everyone agreed.  Radical women became increasingly annoyed by the lack of internal democracy and by being derogatorily labeled lesbians (some were lesbians, some were not) and otherwise marginalized. 

On March 8, 1991 (International Women’s Day), AMNLAE decided to hold a national assembly, and several women’s groups decided to hold their own event: The Festival of the 52%.  The name reflects the desire to include all women of all backgrounds and political affiliation (52% of Nicaragua’s population was female).  The green signs on my patch represent different discussion topics from the festival, and the booth in the bottom right corner shows the Managua Lesbian Feminist Collective making its first public appearance.  They sold tee-shirts, books, posters and more, and were a huge hit at the festival.[2] 

 The “Festival of the 52%” marked the end of one stage of the women’s movement characterized ultimately by considerable dependence on the FSLN and the beginning of another characterized by a determination to develop internal democracy, to set its own objectives and methods of political work, and to build relationships with other social and political movements on the basis of autonomy.[3]