Compañeras: Zapatista Women's Stories

by Hilary Klein

Compañeras is the untold story of women's involvement in the Zapatista movement, the indigenous rebellion that has inspired grassroots activists around the world for over two decades. Gathered here are the stories of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters who became guerilla insurgents and political leaders, educators and healers—who worked collectively to construct a new society of dignity and justice. Compañeras shows us how, after centuries of oppression, a few voices of dissent became a force of thousands, how a woman once confined to her kitchen rose to conduct peace negotiations with the Mexican government, and how hundreds of women overcame ingrained hardships to strengthen their communities from within.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, History, Politics, Indigenous, Race, Gender

368 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2015

About the author

HILARY KLEIN spent six years in Chiapas, Mexico, working with women’s projects in Zapatista communities. After she compiled a book of Zapatista women’s testimony to be circulated in their own villages, women in the Zapatista leadership suggested that Hilary compile a similar book for an outside audience.

Hilary has been engaged in social justice and community organizing for twenty years. After spending five years at Make the Road New York, a membership organization that builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities, she joined the Center for Popular Democracy in May 2015. She is originally from Washington, DC, and received her BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley.

Reviews

[julieta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro inspirador y emocionante, sobre la lucha de las mujeres zapatistas. La lucha por la dignidad del pueblo indígena, pero también por las mujeres. No se puede pensar en un movimiento feminista mexicano sin la lucha de las mujeres en el EZLN, por el cambio que se ha hecho en sus comunidades, pero desde sus parejas con sus compañeros, sus familias, y principalmente, en ellas. Todas las luchas se unen, las luchas contra el patriarcado, y para mejorar la vida de las mujeres indígenas, y de todas las mujeres. Muy conmovedor y hermoso.

[Matty Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Zapatista history. Written by an American white woman who lived in Chiapas for 6(?) years and took oral history accounts throughout Zapatista communities. This brings both an odd ethnographic tone (especially if you are coming from having read Zapatista communiqués), but also a refreshing, communal telling of the Zapatista story. I would recommend alongside The Thirteenth Steele and the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle.

[James Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I interviewed Hilary Klein for In These Times. Check it out before it is crowded out by all the articles on Bernie Sanders: http://inthesetimes.com/article/18812...

[Javiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent detailed account of feminism in Mexico. Highly recommend.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful narratives of Zapatista women fighting within the struggle. Inspires me as a woman to do more and realize my power.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Amanda Welker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, profound, inspiring.

[The Adventures of a French Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I knew very little (actually nothing) about the Zapatista women and the EZLN. This book is really well written and informative. The women's testimonies are insightful and spread hope that things can be changed. Hilary Klein tells the history of the movement, how the EZLN has encouraged women to participate, the difficulties encountered by women, how they have managed step by step to change things, etc. A book definitely worth reading and inspiring.

[Marian Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My name is Ester, but that is not important now.
I am a Zapatista, but that is not important now either.
I am indigenous and I am a woman ---
--- that is all that matters right now."

This book is a beautiful representation of an indigenous tribe who suffered colonization into the twentieth century, and the two decades of low-intensity conflict they've experienced since.

I completely acknowledge that as a white middle class American, I am privileged by the very fact of existing. It hurts to watch people suffer simply for being born. To watch people be hated because what they are, and not even seen for who they are. This book will bring any self-aware human to their knees with grief that a group of people could experience this conflict in our currently "modern" world. I put quotes to represent the fact that the Zapatistas are not alone.

Their mantra of "the voice of the voiceless" is amazing and reflects their actions. They have made social improvements for themselves with active resistance from the Mexican government in only a couple of generations - improvements that has taken many more generations for other marginalised groups.

This book is complicated though, as it represents /both/ the effort of the Zapatista's /and/ the effort of women's rights. It's tightly woven together because women triggered the Zapatista movement, yet so many women still struggle for the most basic of rights - working 20 hours a day non-stop in gender roles while producing and raising babies without a voice. But it's also wonderful to see the strides forward, and the active effort to ripple the changes through the whole movement.

I assigned 4 out of 5 stars simply because it was so difficult to read. This content is powerful and deserves full attention, but the flow and narrative was choppy and sometimes confusing. However, it's a wonderful representation of fighting for social freedom.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

…Y mil años después, se logró! Compré este libro hace un tiempo atrás en Veracruz. Creo que a medida que empiezo a adentrarme en lo que significa ser una persona migrante y una persona migrante en Canadá también he visto la importancia de conocer las historias de mi propio contexto nacional e regional. Este libro superó mis expectativas. Este libro hace un muy buen trabajo contextualizando el movimiento zapatista y la transformación que ha tenido en la vida de las mujeres zapatistas - desde los movimientos sociales que antecedieron al levantamiento zapatista de 1994 hasta la solidaridad entre mujeres zapatistas y otras mujeres en el estado mexicano. Fue un texto denso pero con justa razón. A pesar de que la autora de este libro es una extranjera (cosa que inicialmente me causó cierto conflicto) creo que fue una escritora muy consciente de este hecho e hizo un trabajo fenomenal en dejar brillar a las protagonistas de esta historia - las mujeres zapatistas, que hasta la fecha nos enseñan que otros mundos son posibles. Y que quizá estén más cercanos de lo que pensamos.

[Elior Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

When people think about the Zapatista revolution in Chiapas, most have mental images of armed conflict and the famous Subcomandante Marcos who was the spokesman of the revolution at its start, but there is so much more to the story. This book focuses on the ways that women engage in this liberatory movement and how women's involvement has evolved over time. Much of the book focuses on the non-violent organization of the community, a process which started ten years before the world had even heard of the Zapatistas and which continues to this day in the form of the "Good Government".

This book is well researched and well written.

[Manuel Cantón · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le doy 3* porque es bastante repetitivo. El mensaje zapatista se podría haber expresado con menos entrevistas. En cualquier caso, el movimiento que comenzó en Chiapas en enero de 1994, es de un incalculable valor, sobre todo para las mujeres.

Es una pena que a día de hoy el resumen de situación a través de la IA de Google, sea este:

"En 2025, el movimiento zapatista en Chiapas, México, enfrenta una situación compleja marcada por la violencia del crimen organizado y la disputa por el territorio, lo que ha llevado a la disolución de algunas estructuras autónomas zapatistas. El movimiento sigue activo, pero se ve desafiado por la expansión del narcotráfico y la falta de garantías por parte del estado, lo que ha obligado a las comunidades a adaptarse y buscar nuevas formas de resistencia".

[Natalie Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough!!

Some names and dates do get a bit confusing and dry. But the parts that focus on the strategy of the Zapatistas and how their ideology is actually put into practice is really interesting!!

Good reading for those of us trying to imagine new worlds for ourselves. Seeing how others are doing it is seriously invaluable

[Carinna Tarvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite non-fiction book in a long time.

[Jose Bernardes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super job by Klein

Thank you; precise and incredibly informative. Klein does a great job in describing and illustrating how lives for women changed in Chiapas after the EZLN.

[Allie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book not just about EZLN from a feminist perspective but about EZLN as a whole. Very informative and powerful.

[Ezgi özen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite informative on the history of the Zapatista movement and very interesting in the sense that it includes first hand testimonies by Zapatista women. Though sometimes a bit repetitive.

[Bleu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrote a research paper on women in the Zapatista Movement and this was the perfect read. The stories in here from these women are just so incredibly moving!

[Kelsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. I've read a fair amount about the movement and women’s role in it is usually part of it, but this focuses on their contributions and struggles, adding a new view of Chiapas.