Soldaderas: The Women Of The Revolution

The Mexican Revolution, and the men that were engaged in it

, have been well documented. The Big Four highly recognized male generals and presidents, Alvaro Obregon, Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Venustiano Carranza, have been written about at length, even while others have been largely forgotten. In a time when women largely took a backseat to the rights and duties held by men, it's easy to believe that all of the fighting of the Revolution was done by males. However, Mexico had it's fair share of determined, independent and strong-willed women, that were willing to bear arms and take up the battle cry. The women that threw the expectations of the past aside, and took up arms, were called soldaderas and their role in Mexican history was also important.

It's not the first time that women took roles in warfare; history tends to forget about them, but modern views toward gender equality have caused a revival in the stories about these brave ladies. The word 'soldadera' originally referred to a payment that was made to those who cared for soldiers. Just like their male counterparts, the women were ordinary citizens, who joined the independent guerrilla armies of Zapata and Villa. Referring to a folk ballad written during the time of the Revolution, about a fictional female warrior, they are called 'la Adelita'.

A one time schoolteacher in Aguascalientes, and one of the most beloved soldaderas of the country, was Dolores Jimenez y Muro. She was a contributor to the Plan of Tacubaya in 1910, which outlined the deposition of Porfirio Diaz and sparked the Revolution. She also edited a magazine called 'Mexican Women', and was one of the only revolutionaries to advocate for equal pay for female workers, who at the time were only 8% of the labor force.

Emiliano Zapata, the general of the southern army, had a few female soldiers serving with him and Jimenez y Muro was one of them. His followers were called Zapatistas, and he promoted several women to the rank of officer or higher. A commander in his army, Margarita Neri, was another well-known soldadera. Dolores herself became a colonel, and stayed with the revolutionary's forces until he was murdered in 1919; she died at the age of 77 in 1925.

Hermila Galindo was another soldadera, a feminist who was a supporter of Venustiano Carranza, a Revolution ringleader and eventual President of Mexico. She served as his secretary after he heard her speak at a ceremony. She founded a magazine called 'The Modern Woman', through which she voiced her disapproval of the Catholic Church and opined on the need for liberal, equal sex education for women. She was considered a radical, dangerous person, and faced attacks her entire life but never backed down.

'Soldadera' was also used to denote the wives and children of soldiers who acted as camp followers. This vital service was a part of the army's support system, providing cooking, laundry, nursing, and other favors to the men in combat. Having family members nearby, that also worked as a backup that helped to keep the fighters supplied, made it less likely that a soldier would leave the unit. Despite their struggles against a predominantly male system, women managed to make their mark on the history of the Mexican Revolution.

by: Robert Nickel

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