We have accomplished so much. We could say we are a leading country when it comes to the victories of women, but this does not mean we are done. When we say that we see our dreams on the horizon, we know that as long as we continue dreaming, the horizon recedes and we have farther to go.

Being a revolutionary means more than defending the homeland. It implies changing, breaking barriers, and transforming. Vilma Espín is no doubt one of the most revolutionary women ever in Cuba. She struggled not only for her country’s independence and freedom, but advocated for the rights of women throughout her life, as well.

She did so raising her voice, but also in action. On August 23, 1960, the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) was founded, an organization she led until her death in 2007, advocating for the full participation of women in society and the workplace, alongside the program of social and economic changes unfolding in the country.

Today on its 58th anniversary, the FMC has close to four million members and carries out activities across the country to support families. In the Guidance Centers for Women and Families created by the FMC, educational and preventative work is done to provide assistance to women, children, older adults, and men in facing conflicts, be they related to violence, legal issues, family dynamics, or others.

Also available at these centers are classes and training that allow homemakers to participate in social life. Activities include community visits to maternity hospitals and schools to address responsible sexuality and teenage pregnancy. Staff is also involved in responding to anti-social behavior, including the detection of illicit drug trafficking and consumption, as well as prostitution.

Another effort of the FMC is the “Educate your child program” for mothers and their preschool children between the ages of two and five, to prepare these boys and girls for the school environment.

To accomplish all this, the FMC has a staff that includes social workers and other professionals to ensure that mothers and families can participate in activities and courses, and work for greater and better incorporation of women in society. There are those who don’t like statistics, but in many cases these provide an added dimension to work carried out anonymously, giving isolated events visibility. In Cuba, women constitute 48% of all workers in the civilian state sector.

According to FMC General Secretary Teresa Amarelle Boué, also a member of the Communist Party of Cuba Political Bureau, Cuban women have excellent opportunities to work, participate, and lead. One example is that eight of every ten attorneys in the country are women.

At the end of 2016, 37% of all workers in the economy were women, constituting 63% of all technicians and professionals. Their participation in the non-state sector has been gradually increasing, Amarelle noted in a recent interview published in Granma.

In the healthcare sector, 78.5% of those practicing medicine are women; almost half of scientific researchers are female; and women occupy 66% of the most highly skilled technical and professional positions in the country – receiving equal pay for equal work.

On another front, legislation affords women special rights to pre and post maternity leave, and working mothers have the right to breastfeed their babies as long as they see fit.

Currently, women constitute 53.2% of deputies in the National Assembly of People’s Power, 33.5% of delegates to Municipal Assemblies and 51% at the provincial level. Of the country’s 168 municipalities, 66 have women leading their governments, as is the case in nine of the nation’s 16 provinces.

Still moving toward that receding horizon, Cuban women of the 21st century have more battles to win. While the results of our efforts have been significant, with women’s presence in Cuba ever more active and authentic, we continue dreaming.

In arenas devoted to achieving gender equality and ending violence against women and girls, being debated are issues related to stereotypes that persist in a society that remains patriarchal and machista. The aging of the population enters into the picture when inequalities in the responsibility for domestic tasks and home care are considered. Likewise, work continues to reduce the rates of teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality, which are low when compared to other countries of the region, but continue to be high given our standards.

Isabel Moya Richard, outstanding journalist and for many years director of the Editorial de la Mujer publishing house, said in one of her last interviews that the challenges facing Cuban women were many: “The first is that it is widely believed that we have already won it all. When we look at statistics and see the number of women in Parliament, the number of female scientists, female communicators, and that more than 70% of attorneys are women, etc, we fabricate an idea that distorts reality.

“We have been able to open the way in professions previously not considered appropriate for women. Now we are in a more complex time, that of confronting subjectivity, culture, value judgments and customs – much more difficult to change, since this is about canons deeply seated in the collective imagination, in social expressions:”

The road has been long, but productive, and it will continue to be so, with the horizon as our goal. The Federation of Cuban Women has reached its 58th birthday, and this new year of life is full of challenges, with much more to be accomplished.

(Granma)

The event also provided an opportunity to review Cuban history, challenge modern day “discriminatory culture” across the world, and provided a guide “to use in the present we are building today and the future we dream of,” according to Teresa Amarelle Boué, a member of the Party Political Bureau and secretary general of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).

Amarelle Boué noted that the Revolution changed the history of the nation, and above all the lives of Cuban women. Central to this was Fidel, whose ideas and efforts have been crucial to the gains made by this sector of Cuban society to date, she stated.

The FMC Secretary General added that “In his first speech to the Cuban people on January 1, 1959, in Santiago de Cuba, our beloved Fidel showed, once again, his concern for women’s situation, stating: Women are a sector of our country which also needs to be emancipated, as they are victims of discrimination in the workplace and in other aspects of life.”

This profound humanist vocation led Fidel and Vilma Espín to create the FMC; celebrating its 56th anniversary on August 23, noted Amarelle Boué.

Since its founding the organization has struggled to ensure full equality for women and that they occupy their “rightful place in society,” stated Yolanda Ferrer Gómez former FMC secretary general, 1960-2007.
Meanwhile, journalist Marta Rojas highlighted the importance of remembering the historic contribution made by Cuban women to the country, citing figures such as Ana Betancourt, Mariana Grajales, Juana Borrero and Celia Sánchez: “women of different social and cultural classes, but extremely important to Cuban identity.”
Likewise, Brigade General Delsa Esther Puebla (Teté) recalled her experiences alongside the leader of the Cuban Revolution in the Sierra Maestra.
During the war, she noted, women did everything: we worked as nurses, teaching campesinos to read…Later Fidel taught us how to shoot, and created the Las Marianas platoon, and well, just like he said, a people where men and women fight together, is an invincible people.

(Granma)

”Cuban women’s incorporation in the country’s workforce and public sphere since the early years of the Revolution, their insertion into complex spaces such as sugar mills, the personal development and advancement of campesinas; training and emergence of female professionals across all sectors of society have been important achievements in which our organization has played an active role,” highlighted Mercedes Albu­querque, FMC founder.

A review of the formative days of the Federation included an analysis of the process of integrating the various women’s organizations which existed at the triumph of the Revolution, recognition of the contribution of the People’s Socialist Party to the founding of the FMC, the importance of the integrationist and unitary ideals of the Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro and the exemplary leadership of Vilma Espín.

Meanwhile, Teresa Amerelle Boué, a member of the Party Political Bureau and secretary general of the FMC, reflected on the socio-political context which characterized the early stages of the Revolution, when the call was made to think about the future of Cuban women from an organization uniting efforts and voices in support of the new society which was being built.

Participants, all women of passion and great sacrifice, recognized that they compose part of a humanist project – “a Revolution within the Revolution” –built on solid foundations with the participation of many who are no longer with us today.

In this sense, Brigade General Del­sa Esther Puebla stressed the importance of the continuation of the FMC, its new efforts, its redefinition from the grassroots level, communities and the organization’s raison d’être: the family.

(Granma)

Amarelle Boué commented that Raúl’s congratulations reinforced the commitment of Cuban women and insisted that the FMC would continue to guarantee the unity of women in the defense of the Revolution.

Making the central remarks at the celebration was Olga Lidia Tapia Iglesias, member of the Party Central Committee, who recalled that the organization, founded August 23, 1960 by the Revolution’s historic leader, Fidel Castro, and heroine of the city and mountains Vilma Espín, had as its principal objective, from the very beginning, the full incorporation of women into all walks of the country’s social and economic life.

Among the FMC’s accomplishments, Tapia emphasized the establishment of childcare centers; modern legislation protecting children; the development of sex education; progress in the realm of labor and wages; and an important role in drafting the country’s Family Code.

She noted that women today constitute 48% of those employed in the state sector, 66% of technical professionals, and 53% of scientists.

The FMC has also contributed to increasing the number of women in leadership positions, she said, noting the important fact that 48.86% of National Assembly deputies are female, one of the highest proportions in the world.

During the anniversary event in Bayamo, the province of Granma was awarded the National Vanguard flag, while the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Artemisa and Villa Clara were recognized for their outstanding work.

Other distinguished guests at the event included Sonia Virgen Pérez, member of the Party Central Committee and provincial Party general secretary; Revolutionary Armed Forces Brigadier General Delsa Esther Puebla (Teté); and Edemis Tamayo (La Gallega), these last two members of the legendary group of female revolutionary combatants, the Marianas.

In the Segundo Frente municipality of Santiago de Cuba, the continued relevance of Vilma Espín’s thought and actions was reasserted and honored on the anniversary of the FMC, to which she devoted a great part of her life.

A floral wreath was laid at the spot where her ashes rest, at the Frank País García Eastern Second Front Mausoleum, in the name of all Cuban women, as the culmination of a commemorative event led by local FMC leader Yitsi Torres Reyes, who reiterated the organization’s permanent commitment to continuing the work of the its eternal president.

(Diario Granma)

José Ramón Machado Ventura, Party Central Committee second secretary and a Council of Ministers vice president, presented the awards and emphasized that Cuban women “must be, and are, on all fronts in our country.”
The Distinction was granted by the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), on the occasion of its 55th anniversary, to deserving individuals based on their professional and social careers; their ethical, revolutionary values; their exemplary conduct in areas such as government, the judiciary, science, production, the arts, culture and sports.

In the words of FMC leader Arelys Santana Bello, the honorees had “accumulated important merits, by contributing to elevating the role of Cuban women.”

Among the honorees was Yunidis Castillo, winner of multiple Paralympic championships and FMC member, who expressed her pride upon being included among outstanding Cuban women who exemplify, she said, “determination, willpower and knowing how to rise to the occasion when faced with difficulties.”

Also recognized was Olga Lidia Jones Morrinson, vice president of Cuba’s People’s Supreme Court, who added that she had the pleasure of working in an institution in which 80% of the judges are women, who have made their mark on the country’s jurisprudence. She commented that this would not have been accomplished without the FMC’s contribution to empowering women.

(Granma)