The picture of pre-revolutionary Mexican women was of a woman who had to live her life constantly in the male shadow. These women were consumed by family life, marriage, and the Catholic Church, and lived silently behind their dominant male counterparts. In 1884 (prior to the revolution) the government passed the Mexican Civil Code. It dramatically restricted women's rights at home and at work. Soto states that the code "sustains an almost incredible inequality between the conditions of husband and wife, restricts in an exaggerated and arbitrary manner those rights due the woman, and…erases and nullifies her personality".
The code was just one of the many inequalities women and other ethnic, economic, political, or religious minorities suffered under the regime of Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico from most of the years 1876 to 1911. When the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920 arose to fight against the discrimination that Diaz incorporated into his regime, women began to find a place for themselves. It gave them the chance to control their own fate and live more public lives successfully.
Mexican women were essential to the revolution in a number of ways. They were involved in politics, were strong advocates for the causes they believed in, and participated in life on the battlefields. The female political figures were probably the most important and influential women in the Mexican Revolution. They were prominent political activists, thinkers, writers, figures, role models, and were fearless in their pursuit of their goals, often resulting in jail terms. Both upper and lower class women managed to get high in the ranks of politics despite the inequalities they had to face, and gained the respect of men and women alike. Many of these female political figures also set the precedent for generations to come in their thinking and political tactics.
Not only did these women find a place in society other than by the stove, they won the appreciation and respect of men and women around them. Two of the most extraordinary of these women were Dolores Jimenez y Muro, who was an important political writer, and Hermila Galindo, who was a political speaker and advocate for Carranza’s campaign and regime. Dolores Jimenez y Muro's importance is evident in how she was able to have her voice heard and listened to by high-ranking revolutionary officials. Hermila Galindo's prominence is shown by her distinguished political career and feminist movements.
Women were also important in their selfless support of the troops that fought the battles. These soldaderas (female soldiers) not only joined the men on the frontlines, but they also supported them in a way that allowed the troops to succeed, by doing the many thankless tasks that go along with fighting. Unfortunately, because of women’s lower class standing, male historians have often omitted information about many of these spectacular women. The legends of these women have been popularized and romanticized by male storytellers, making them seem more like sexual beings rather than heroes. — Tereza Jandura
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