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Abstract
This study explores the consciousness-raising circumstances that allowed some Salvadoran campesinas to defy their traditional roles and become leaders in their communities. The stories of seven El Salvadoran campesinas who lived in Mesa Grande, a refugee camp in Honduras during the civil war of 1980–1992 are recorded in this study. A non-governmental non-profit organization identified the participants in an El Salvadoran village as current or former leaders over the age of 30. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach identified philosophical, religious, and social perspectives plus events and circumstances that provided the participants with new experiences that challenged the traditional view of women. Consciousness-raising or conscientization as defined by Freire, is the theoretical framework for the study. Conscientization allowed the participants to overcome cultural limitations to perceive themselves as capable leaders in the public sphere in their community. The study identifies four circumstances that began the process of consciousness-raising: (a) experience with organizing others provided by participation in Christian base communities; (b) opportunities for leadership in the refugee camp Mesa Grande; (c) formal and informal education and training that changed self-perceptions; and (d) the death of sons. Some women experienced consciousness-raising activities through Christian base communities prior to the civil war. Others volunteered their skills as refugees and learned additional skills through their work. Still others did not experience a change of consciousness until resettlement in El Salvador. The interviews allowed the women to tell their stories, to reflect on their stories, and provide meaning to their lives. Hermeneutic phenomenology allowed for interpretation of these stories in the historical setting in which the women lived. This study of lived experience illustrates what it meant for these seven participants to be women, campesinas, and leaders. This study supports much of the Vasquéz (2000) research on Salvadoran campesinas. A major difference, in contrast to the Vasquéz study, shows the participants in this study maintaining leadership roles in their community and they continue to challenge traditional gender roles in society.
