Sandanistas betray women

At one time, the Sandanistas were the voice of progress for women in Nicaragua. They declared their intention to "abolish the detestable discrimination that women have suffered with regard to men and establish economic, political and cultural equality between men and women." Now they are willing to sell women out in order to win the upcoming presidential election.

Last week the Nicaraguan parliament passed a law banning all forms of abortion, including for rape victims and for pregnant women whose life is in danger. The Sandanistas supported the law.

That the misogynist Roman Catholic Church drove the campaign for the ban and the ruling right-wing Liberal Alliance promoted it is not surprising. That the Sandanistas would go along is surprising. Or perhaps not. The fast-tracking of the legislation during an election is a shameless ploy that apparently the Sandanista candidate, Daniel Ortega (yes, that Daniel Ortega, the one who was once a hero to progressives) apparently didn't want to lose out on.

Current law allows abortions in special circumstances, but few are performed. Rich women travel abroad for the procedure while tens of thousands of poor women have illegal abortions every year. A third of new mothers in Nicaragua are 16 or younger.

Ortega is the odds-on favourite to win the presidency. If he is successful, it will be in no small part due to his willingness to sacrifice women on the altar of the Church.