Counter Narratives, the Psychology of Liberation, and the Evolution of a Women’s Social Movement in Nicaragua Shelly Grabe and Anjali Dutt University of California, Santa Cruz In response to a rise of dictatorships, the exacerbation of inequality, and violations of human rights in many Latin American countries, individuals have joined together through the formation of social movements to enact powerful, revolutionary changes in the area of human rights. The Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres (Autonomous Wom- en’s Movement) in Nicaragua, specifically, was birthed out of the Sandinista Revolu- tion when many women joined a massive national uprising during the 1970s in an effort to overthrow a dictatorship. The current study uses thematic narrative analysis to examine the oral histories of 13 key leaders within the Movimiento to understand how women’s interactions with counter narratives have played a significant role in creating a more expansive and inclusive notion of human rights, and have fueled a pointed commitment to the use of human rights discourse in a strategic political agenda aimed at improving women’s lived experience. The findings suggest that the leaders of the Movimiento deepened their understanding of human rights beyond traditional discourse through varied understandings of the consequences of inequality and, through an evolving process of awareness and action, developed a duty to challenge the dominant narratives that limited whose rights were realized. Moreover, our analysis connects the use of counter narratives that employ human rights discourse to current legislation and policy in Nicaragua that enhances the realization of women’s human rights. Keywords: human rights, liberation psychology, feminism, narrative A history of colonialism, the persistence of neoliberal exploitation, and the reality of wide- spread corruption have led to the rise of dicta- torships, the exacerbation of inequality, and vi- olations of human rights in many Latin American countries (Grosfoguel, 1996). How- ever, in response to well-documented injustices, individuals have joined together through the formation of social movements to enact power- ful, revolutionary changes in the area of human rights (Alvarez, 2000; Escobar & Alvarez, 1992). The Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres (Autonomous Women’s Movement) in Nicara- gua, in particular, is a social movement that emerged out of a socialist revolution to more inclusively attend to the rights of women whose SHELLY GRABE received her PhD in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She currently works in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Grabe’s research examines sociostructural components of women’s rights violations and processes of resistance in the pursuit of social justice in the context of globalization and in partnership with grassroots women’s organizations. ANJALI DUTT is a doctoral candidate in social psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned her bachelor’s degree from The College of New Jersey where she studied psychology and international studies and her master’s degree in psychology from UC Santa Cruz. Her research interests center on understanding the psychological methods and processes through which individuals challenge oppressive contexts and create social change. She is particularly inter- ested in issues related to globalization and human rights. BOTH authors shared equally in the conceptualization and writing of this article. Grabe was listed first because she is the primary investigator of the project. This research was supported by two grants to Shelly Grabe, one from the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the Uni- versity of Michigan and one from the University of Cali- fornia Global Health Initiative, Women’s Health and Em- powerment Center of Expertise. We thank a key collaborator in the administration of this project, Carlos Arena, for his continued role as a bridge between academia and social activism. CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed to Shelly Grabe, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064. E-mail: sgrabe@ucsc.edu This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology © 2015 American Psychological Association 2015, Vol. 21, No. 1, 89 –105 1078-1919/15/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pac0000080 89