El Salvador: Are women members of the guerrilla, and what is their role?
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV6018 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Are women members of the guerrilla, and what is their role?, 1 June 1990, SLV6018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aaf72c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A number of reports mention or show photographs of women as members of the guerrillas in El Salvador, some of them reportedly holding top leadership positions within the rebel groups. This references may be found, for example in Revolutionary and Dissident Movements (London: Longman Publishing Group, 1988), and news clippings available at your regional Documentation Centre. Other sources which name women among the leading ranks of rebel organizations in El Salvador include Latin American Political Movements (London: Longman Publishing Group, 1986) and the International Yearbook on International Communist Affairs (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press) in its 1984 through 1989 editions. A copy of the first pages (82-84) of the 1989 International Yearbook is attached, for a listing of the main guerrilla and related organizations of El Salvador. A number of women are listed among the command structures of these organizations.
Regarding combat roles, the attached article from The Christian Science Monitor of 2 May 1990 (p. 4), "Chamorro Keeps Support For Salvadoran Rebels", includes a photograph which reportedly shows two female Salvadorean guerrillas equipped with combat uniforms and gear. Also attached is a report on "Women combatants" from Women of El Salvador: The Price of Freedom (London: Zed Books, 1986), pages 127-131. This publication discusses the role of women in the guerrilla organization, including the support role of older women and male-female relations within guerrilla groups.
The book The Civilian Toll (Washington D.C.: Americas Watch, 1987), p. 153, when reporting involvement of children in the war, indicates the FMLN guerrilla organization responded to Americas Watch concern on the subject claiming that "children are accompanying their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, who are armed". The same source, on page 154, reports the sighting of children [sex not specified] who "appear uniformed and armed in the company of a squad of guerrillas".
Although some other reports currently available to the IRBDC also show photographs of guerrillas who are or appear to be women, additional information or discussion on the role of women in the guerrilla groups of El Salvador could not be found among those or other currently available reports.