was to migrate from the countryside to more urban areas in search of work. In addition to migrating, another way was for more women to enter the labor force. But too often, the first solution increased the need for the second. Often temporary emigration turned into permanent abandonment. As more men were pushed into the
             coffee and cotton harvests, more women were abandoned, so that by 1978, between a third and a half of all families were estimated to be headed by single females (Mason 76)
             These structural changes (concentration of land, breakup of households, urbanization, large-scale entrance of women in the labor force) had their impact on participation in the Sandinista struggle. The mobilization of the FSLN offered political and economic solutions to the problems of the large number of the newly landless (Enriquez 87). And not only do these socio-economic factors help explain high levels of participation in this struggle, they also help explain the high levels of female participation. The disruption of family life and the massive entrance of women into the workforce, started many women on a path of community participation that eventually led to participation in the Sandinista struggle. This was the case, not only for the older women in search of finding solutions to their family problems, but also for their daughters. Most of the women who became guerillas had made the decision to cast their lot with the Sandinistas back when they were old enough to de!
             cide for themselves but young enough not to be burdened with the responsibility of children, or at least not many. They had usually became guerillas at an age when they, like other adolescents, tended toward recklessness-to either underestimate the risks involved in supporting the move
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