Segundo Frente, Santiago de Cuba.– A symbol of the struggles of Cuban women for their full emancipation, heroine of the underground and guerrilla struggle, Vilma Espín Guillois, was honored, this March 8, before the monumental boulder where her ashes rest, in the mausoleum to the heroes and martyrs of the Frank País Second Front.

A bouquet of white roses and lilies, placed very close, and a floral wreath at the foot of the memorial, arrived to pay tribute to the extraordinary Santiago native, whose determination, sensitivity and love for the family, and especially for children, won her admiration in Cuba and abroad.

Leyanis Riquelmes Batista and Yudith Aguilar Valverde, president and vice-president of the Municipal Defense Council, led the commemoration and the subsequent meeting of women living in these historic mountains, who relcalled anecdotes about the legendary revolutionary fighter.

On a proud date for Cuban women, a representative group of women from Santiago also honored Mariana Grajales Cuello, Mother of the Homeland and of the legendary Maceo brothers, placing flowers, on behalf of the country’s women alongside the tomb that holds her remains in Santiago de Cuba’s patrimonial Santa Ifigenia Cemetery.

(Taken from Granma)

“Thank you for giving life, home, care, food. For maintaining daily heroism. For giving birth to this people who you make so proud,” wrote the President, adding: “A beautiful day of mothers, reminding us of the tribute we owe to these heroines every day.”

Mariana Grajales Cuello is a living example of a woman who gave her children and all her energy for Cuba’s freedom. This is the name her parent gave her, but Cuba knows her as the Mother of the Nation, symbolizing great love and great sacrifice for the homeland.

Raising her children with her customary strictness, in the fierceness of her traditions, and her understanding of education, which was necessary to inculcate within young men, when the moment of struggle arose, she took a crucifix from the wall and called, “On your knees, all fathers and sons, before Christ, who was the first liberal man who came into the world, let us swear to liberate the country or die.”

With this traditional Cuban firmness, the people of Santiago honored Mariana on Sunday, on behalf of the entire people, in Santa Ifigenia cemetery. A floral wreath was placed next to the pantheon that holds her remains, by a Revolutionary Armed Forces ceremonial detachment and guard of honor composed of young women.

The event was led by the members of the Party Central Committee and the highest authorities of the Party and government in the province, Lázaro Expósito Canto and Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, respectively.

(Granma)

We are in the run-up to the constitutional referendum, a momentous moment where the people will go to the polls and support the new Magna Carta, the member of the Communist Party of Cuba Political Bureau noted.

“The FMC feels honored to accompany this process with the preparations for its 10th Congress,” she added.

During 2018 to date, the organization has focused its efforts on the legal preparation of all Cuban women.

“We drew up educational materials, such as ‘Women and the Constitution in Cuba”; and we convened the Women and Rights contest, the awards of which will be announced on February 22nd,” she explained.

This motivated, in the first place, participation during the popular consultation process on the draft Constitution, which took place from August to November of last year, she noted.

Secondly, it has allowed Cuban women to understand the need to ratify the new Constitution in the referendum on February 24, she explained.

“Today we can say with pride that many of those who organized this consultation process were FMC members. Most of the interventions and contributions came from women,” the secretary general also stressed.

In addition, more than 60% of electoral authorities today are women, she added.

TO BACK THE CONSTITUTION IS TO SUPPORT GENDER EQUALITY

We are working, woman to woman, to spread the reasons why we Cubans will vote “yes” in the constitutional referendum, the FMC secretary general commented.

“We recently toured the entire country, where we could exchange with cadres, grassroots leaders, delegates to our 10th Congress. This also allowed us to listen to initiatives and realize that Cuban women know that this is a necessary Constitution,” she explained.

“To support the Constitution is to support the equality that the Revolution has promoted since the beginning; we owe it this Yes,” Amarelle stressed.
WHY VOTE YES: THE NEW CONSTITUTION FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE

The new Constitution responds to its time, and is rooted in the current Cuban political, economic, and social reality that it governs.

It updates, completes, and significantly and substantially expands citizens’ rights.

The equality clause and the principle of non-discrimination are redefined, incorporating new figures or categories that are vulnerable or susceptible to discrimination such as age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnic origin and national origin. In addition, the wording of the so-called residual clause is perfected, in which other assumptions or personal circumstances that imply a distinction harmful to human dignity can be considered and prevented.

The new text reinforces women’s protection, equal rights in all areas in relation to men, ensures the free exercise of their sexual and reproductive rights, which is a novelty, and protects them from gender violence in any of its manifestations and spaces.

Essential and basic rights that were omitted or not clearly noted in the previous Constitution are expressly outlined, such as the right to life, physical and moral integrity, and personality rights (free development of personality, personal and family intimacy, control over one’s image, voice, and personal identity, the right to travel through the national territory and to leave and enter the country).

A new chapter on Families is incorporated, which recognizes the right of every person to found a family; the protection provided by the state to different types of families in society; reformulates the concept of marriage as one of the forms of family organization based on free consent, equal rights and obligations, and legal capacity of the spouses, referring to the law the form in which marriage is constituted and its effects; and also recognizes de facto unions for the conformation of a common life project.

Therefore, the possibility for future legal norms concerning same-sex marriage and de facto unions remains open.

THE 10TH FMC CONGRESS

With 360 delegates and 40 guests, the 10th Congress of the FMC will meet in the Cuban capital March 6, 7 and 8. The event will be dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the beginning of Cuba’s independence struggles, the 60th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, Vilma Espín and all young Cuban women.

Although commissions will meet in several venues on the first day, on March 7 and 8 the Congress will gather in the Havana International Conference Center.

Debates will focus on the FMC as an organization that mobilizes women as part of the updating of the country’s economic and social model; the continuity of the Federation; life within the organization; and the role of young members. •

SINCE THE LAST CONGRESS: FIVE YEARS OF EFFORTS IN FIGURES

Among the most important achievements of the FMC since its 9th Congress, held in 2014, are:

- Achieving a combination of experience and youth, since, on average, 56,000 young people have entered in recent years.

- At the local delegation level, 37% of general secretaries are aged under 35. Of these, a high percentage are students

NEIGHBORHOOD WOMEN AND FAMILY GUIDANCE CENTERS

Since the last Congress to date, more than 3,200,000 people have passed through these institutions, and of these, a majority are young people up to 35 years of age.

An annual average of 60,000 people have participated in activities carried out by these local centers, showing the popularity of the training programs offered by the institution.

More than 300,000 people, 60% of them young people, have received training in an average of 50 different areas, taught in the centers.

Annually, more than 60,000 people are trained in a trade within these centers and, of them, more than 25% are men, which demonstrates the level of family identification with the work done.

(Granma)

Cuba has won 220 medals in Olympic Games, the most longstanding competition in world sports. Of these, 77 are gold, 69 silver, and 74 bronze. Cuban women are the owners of 49 – 12 golden, 17 silver, and 20 bronze. If they had competed as a nation, they would be fifth in the ranking of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, surpassed only by Brazil (30-36-61-127), Jamaica (22-33-22-77), Argentina (21-25-28-74), and Mexico (13-24-32-69).
Only 40 national delegations have won more than 10 gold medals in the Olympics, and Cuban women have won 12.
Cuba gave Latin America and the Caribbean its first female champion and also the first judoka in the region to win a gold medal.

An entire edition would not be enough to recall all of the glory, so with recollections of three women, all are honored – starting with the first, Miguelina Cobián, Marlene Elejalde, Fulgencia Romay, and Violeta Quesada, with their silver in the 4×100 relay in Mexico 1968, to Idalys Ortiz, Río de Janeiro 2016.

NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO HER METTLE
Her elegant rhythm on the track and her demon-possessed race to the finish gave her the nickname Caribbean Storm. Her name was Ana Fidelia, for Fidel, with whom she shared a lovely complicity.

“If a competition for treating an injured person had been organized, the doctors, nurses, psychologists, and the rest of the staff who cared for me surely would have won a gold medal. So the victory won during this past World Championship is also the victory of Cuban medicine, the victory of a people that does not surrender when faced with difficulties, the victory of ideas and principles. What can I say to you on a day like today? That I accept this tribute with great humility and deep gratitude.

Thanks to the Revolution I was able to become an athlete; thanks to the Revolution and its generosity, I was able to overcome the accident; thanks to Fidel and his attention, I was able to compete and win; thanks to the solidarity and support of the people, I received enough motivation and encouragement to struggle and win.”

These were her words on September 15, 1995, upon accepting the gold medal at the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her accomplishment was colossal. On January 22, 1993, she suffered a life-threatening domestic accident, causing her a miscarriage and burns over 40% of her body. The Comandante en Jefe visited her bedside more than 20 times, accompanying her on this race one step at a time, through agonizing moments, to save the life of a woman born in Palma Soriano, precisely on July 26, ten years after the assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Garrisons.
In that Swedish city, she wrote her own history, winning a gold medal on August 13, the same day Fidel celebrated his 69th birthday. After this feat and a silver medal won in Athens 1997, Fidel said, “Two things came together to save Fidelia: a miracle of science and that technique with the miracle of human willpower. We have won many sports victories, but I don’t think anything as exciting as this has ever occurred, that moves, that shakes the body and soul’s fibers, as the news of this victory did.”

BETWEEN THE HUMAN & THE DIVINE

On July 20, 2013, my colleague Joel García was able to extract a confession from this female athlete born in Baracoa: “My maternal grandfather told me that his father, Félix Ruenes, received Martí in Playitas, when he landed for the war of 1895. In his campaign diary, Martí talks about him and this is something sacred for the entire family, especially for those of us who have been able to humbly represent the country around the world.”

María Caridad Colón, on July 25, 1980, in the city of Moscow, became the first woman to give Latin America and the Caribbean a gold medal.

Four women had much better records throwing the javelin. She didn’t even figure among the favorites. She alone thought she had a chance, despite her full awareness of the situation. A pain in her shoulder allowed her only one attempt in the qualifying round, and it was good enough. On the day of the finals, minutes before her turn, Dr. Rodrigo Álvarez Cambra had to inject the small of her back. She was not even able to warm up like her rivals, since the effort not only took her breath away, but could potentially have cost her the chance to compete.

She watched German Ruth Fush, winner in Munich-1972 and Montreal-1976, María Caridad’s idol and example, and the Soviet Union’s Tatiana Biryulina, who had made a world record throw just two weeks earlier. Her moment arrived and the aluminum spear left the 22-year-old’s hand and sailed into the sky over Luzhniki Stadium, falling at 68.40 meters, to set an Olympic record. She could throw no more, but made history giving Latin America and the Caribbean its first gold medal.

THE MOST PRECIOUS TREASURE

A joint training session with the Netherlands in Havana, just three months before the Atlanta 1996 Summer Games, left her on the ground, barely able to move. She was quickly transported to the hospital and the first diagnosis appeared to mean an end to her career in sports. A serious neck injury threatened her mobility. The greatest hope of any athlete was escaping her, but she is Driulis González, a Cuban woman from Guantanamo, a tireless fighter.

When no one believed in a miracle, she and her trainer, another invincible, Ronaldo Veitía, were sure of one. She spent the next three months in a wheel chair, leaving it just 15 days before the Atlanta meet.

“I only thought about winning; the “gordo” told me I was ready and that I would accomplish it.” Sun-Yong Jung, the South Korean she had defeated the year before at the Chiba World Championships in Japan, would again be her most challenging opponent, and once again Cuba’s top judoka took control of the mat.

The Olympic champion, World champion, Pan American and Central American champion didn’t miss a beat. Nevertheless, her most treasured prize is not this one. This place is reserved for the honor she had on June 30, 2007, when as the standard bearer for the Cuban delegation to the Pan American Games leading up to Río de Janeiro-2007, she received the nation’s flag from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, at Havana’s José Martí Memorial.

(Granma)

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 Cuban expert described this achievement as one of the sector’s strengths, highlighting the importance of science, technology and innovation (CTI) toward overcoming the country’s challenges and promoting development.

In this sense, he explained that the CTI system includes some 15,993 PhD holders (355 with a combined degree); 25,000 university professors; 6,839 researchers; 30 specialist universities and thousands of technicians.

Among national priorities for the sector he mentioned food production for both animals and humans; the development of renewable energy; adaptation to climate change; and the computerization of Cuban society.

Velázquez Pérez also highlighted the sustainable use of natural resources, Cuban society, economy and international relations; urban and provincial planning; biotechnology; pharmaceutical production; and research within the fields of exact and natural sciences; as well as nanotechnology.

The International Congress, organized by the Ministry of Education and Central Institute of Pedagogical Sciences, is being held June 11-15 under the maxim: Investigate and Innovate: The 2030 Agenda, with around 300 participants, including 100 international guests from seven countries.

The event aims to contribute to promoting exchanges and sharing scientific results and good practices in the daily work of educational professionals.

(Cubadebate)

Experts define human trafficking as a crime in which victims are exploited through forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. However, one of the most common forms of human trafficking is sexual exploitation, with countless women forced to prostitute themselves for fear of their lives or that of their family members.

Cuba’s 2015 report on combating human trafficking and related crimes outlines the forms of deception and manipulation used to entrap victims.

“In the process of capturing victims, mainly young people, traffickers from the country of origin but based abroad or foreigners, directly or through their contacts in the country, advertise false offers of well-paid employment, such as manicurist, waitress or dancer, and arrange all migration documents including letters of invitation.

“In order to recover expenses for the victim’s travel, lodging and food, traffickers force them to prostitute themselves by threatening to kill them or their family members in Cuba if they refuse, lock them up and take away all their identity documents. Once the victim’s debt has been repaid traffickers raise fees, causing some victims to continue working as prostitutes or promote trafficking in Cuba from abroad to avoid abuse.

OVER 20 MILLION VICTIMS WORLDWIDE

According to estimates, human trafficking is the third most lucrative crime in the world, after drug and arms trafficking.

During a Security Council debate on trafficking in persons in conflict situations, held in March 2017, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, highlighted that the issue continues to be a problem in the 21st century.

In his opening remarks Guterres noted, “Trafficking networks have gone global. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, victims can be found in 106 countries. The International Labour Organization reports that 21 million people around the world are victims of forced labour and extreme exploitation.”

Figures from the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reveal that around 70% of human trafficking victims are women and girls, while boys make up 30%.

Human trafficking is both a domestic and international crime which violates an individual’s human rights and integrity, and involves traffickers who frequently use deceit, violence, and coercion to entrap victims, who are then exploited for money. What is more, even if the victim initially agrees, this consent is negated if it is obtained through improper means.
PREVENTION & PROTECTION IN CUBA

According to the country’s 2015 report on combating human trafficking and its related crimes, Cuban law defines trafficking in persons as the promotion, organization or coercion of persons to enter or leave the country for the purpose of prostitution or any other form of sexual trade.

The protection offered by the Cuban state to all citizens as part of their human rights as recognized in the Constitution of the Republic and upheld for almost 60 years of Revolution, means that this crime poses little risk to the population.

None the less Cuba has drawn up a national action plan for preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting victims for the period 2017-2020.

The document notes that “The Cuban government maintains a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward this crime based on three fundamental pillars: prevention, enforcement, and protection of victims.”

Meanwhile, in line with the government’s policy, the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) is working to educate communities on the issue, increase risk awareness among the population and offer individualized assistance to victims.

“We believe that the best way to prevent human trafficking is to empower women,” according to Dr. Isabel Moya Richard, director of the FMC’s Mujer publishing house and the magazine Mujeres.

“People trafficking isn’t a big problem for us. However, this issue is becoming more important as the country begins to open, which is why we must continue talking about it. For every 10 female victims of sexual exploitation worldwide, there are two male which is why we classify human trafficking as a form of gender violence.”

The Cuban state will continue to work hard, together with civil society organizations, to ensure this phenomenon which continually finds new ways to revive the old chains of slavery, does not find space in a society committed to socialism and the full dignity of human beings.

WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime “Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

ZERO TOLERANCE

The Cuban state has signed various legal instruments related to people trafficking including the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Convention on the Rights of the Child; and Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.

Meanwhile, after the triumph of the Revolution programs to protect vulnerable persons – above all women, children and adolescents – were drawn up, with legislation including harsh sentences established for people traffickers and support mechanisms created for victims.

(Granma)

Teresa Amarelle Boué, Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), told Granma that the Meeting will address issues such as the implementation of gender equality plans under the framework of the 2030 Agenda and sustainable development goals.

The first Conference was held in 1977, and at that time the FMC was led by Vilma Espín. “Cuba had made progress in equal gender rights, opportunities and possibilities, so the country offered to host the inaugural conference,” Amarelle explained.

In this regard, she added that the Meeting will be dedicated to Vilma, the first president of the ECLAC Regional Conference on Women, and to the historic leader of the Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz, who always promoted the crucial role of Cuban women.

Amarelle explained that these meetings of presiding officers, including 19 member countries, and currently chaired by Uruguay, are held between each conference. The next ECLAC Regional Conference on Women will be held in Chile in 2019.

The FMC Secretary General also noted that Cuba is a reference in the regional context, due to the public policies promoted, with the active participation of the FMC, as a national mechanism for the advancement of women.

According to its website, “The Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women, which is one of ECLAC’s nine subsidiary bodies, is made up of Uruguay, which holds the presidency, as well as Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Suriname.”

(Granma)

“One day someone told me an anecdote about a man who said to a woman: You spend your lives complaining. The woman responded: Yes, it’s true, but in the end we bury you,” stated the professor in a story which perfectly sums up the aforementioned dilemma.

“Currently, almost 20% of Cubans (19.8% of the population) are going grey, and soon there will be many more, in a phenomenon known in other countries as the silver tsunami. Elderly women (53.2%) outnumber elderly men, living an average of four years more,” noted the interviewee, who quickly added, “But living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living better.”

According to the expert, although the majority of elderly people are independent, as a person’s age increases so do chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and arthritis, to name just a few examples.

In the same way the number of dependent people has also risen, noted Menéndez, who pointed out that the health of the elderly should not be measured by the number of illnesses they suffer, but by their ability to lead full and independent lives.

Today, life expectancy at birth in Cuba is an average of 78.45 years for both sexes, 80.45 years for women and 76.5 for men. However, those who reach 60 years of age are expected to live a further 22 years; while 80 year olds can expect to live for another nine, according to the 2016 Health Statistics Annual Report.

Menéndez noted that the health of elderly women in Havana was evaluated in a study conducted several years ago by researchers at Cited, during which they were asked to A) state the number of chronic illnesses they suffer; B) give a self-evaluation of their health; and C) indicate whether they suffer from a disability or not.

When women’s responses were compared with those of men’s, it was clear that elderly women had a more negative opinion of their health, and suffered from more illnesses and disabilities than their male counterparts, he reported.

“In today’s society, women are being asked to join the workforce, look after their children and their elders. However, we can’t confirm that this is why women’s’ health is poorer than men’s,” noted the professor.

He went on to add that similar results have been seen in almost all studies conducted on the issue in other countries.

There could be various reasons for this. From a biological point of view, women suffer from arthritis-related conditions more frequently than men; on the other hand, estrogen seems to have beneficial effects on mental and brain activity, although a decline in its production with the onset of menopause causes a decrease in these protective effects.

However, biology isn’t the only possible cause according to the specialist, who noted that cultural customs also play a part. “Ever since women were born they have never had the opportunity to develop their true potential, as many put the needs of others above their own. It’s what they have been taught, and what they have done all their lives. Meanwhile, women are traditionally the “main caregivers” in the home: looking after children, spouses, parents, rather than themselves,” he stated.

“What happens to women who find themselves in this stage of more acute decline? Could their daily lives be responsible? Do women possess exceptional characteristics that enable them to live longer? It is, after all, women who ensure the continuation the human species. So, does a woman’s ability to give birth mean that although she may suffer from poorer health, she is able to live longer? These questions require further study to shed more light on the subject. However, there is no doubt that a long-term care system, which represents a challenge for today’s society, will allow both men and women to live better and longer lives,” noted the expert.

(Granma)

Both are part of a series of provisions for the implementation of Guideline no.144 of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution, aimed at responding to the demographic dynamics of the island and the phenomenon of population aging.

“Pursuant to this guideline a set of measures has been approved, and these are the first, based on the economic reality of the country today. To the extent that the situation permits, others will be implemented,” stated Haydee Franco Leal, director of Policies and Projections at the National Institute of Social Security, attached to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

What were the grounds for the enactment of these two decrees?
These decrees were issued to comply with the policy approved by the Council of Ministers, aimed at addressing the high level of population aging, and form part of a comprehensive policy for the process of perfecting and updating our economic model.

There are three essential objectives to this policy: to encourage fertility in order to move toward population replacement in the medium term. That is, to encourage Cuban women to have at least two children.

Secondly, to meet the needs of the growing population 60 years of age and older, with the adoption of a group of measures that permit the active participation of this demographic in the economic, political and social life of the nation.

The third purpose is to stimulate majority employment of all those able to work. With these three objectives, these decree-laws were enacted to encourage a higher fertility rate among women, as well as their incorporation and reincorporation into the workforce, and foster greater integration of the family in the care of minors.

When did these provisions come into effect?
Decree-Law 339, approved by the National Assembly on December 8, 2016, entered into force on February 10 of this year, together with No. 340. Both have the same date of approval and enactment.
No. 339 – on ‘Female Workers’ Maternity’ – is aimed at pro
tecting female state sector workers. I would say more than women themselves, it protects Cuban families working in the state sector, given the scope of the legislation.

Among its articles is a series of rights that extend those already recognized in previous legislation, while creating new ones. The most relevant are four measures of a significant impact, which we consider to be the most influential on a woman’s decision to have more children.

The decree-law established that the monthly monetary maternity benefit (economic and social security benefit) can not be lower than the minimum wage in force in the country.

The second measure is for women workers with more than one job. Women in this situation are entitled to receive maternity benefits corresponding to each of their workplaces, in accordance with the time they have worked and provided they meet the relevant legislative requirements.

The requirements concern the right to the monetary benefit, that is to say the payment linked to maternal leave, rather than the leave itself. This undoubtedly results in a greater economic income for working mothers.

Thirdly, we have women workers hired for a fixed term in contracts of more than one year. Even if the contract has been terminated, if a woman has reached the 34th week of pregnancy within a period not exceeding three months after the conclusion of this contract, she will be entitled to the paid maternity benefit for the pre and postnatal leave period.

The fourth measure is to extend to working maternal or paternal grandparents the right to the social security benefit that until now only corresponded to the mother and father. When these figures – including the father who was already included in the previous legislation – decide to take care of the child after the postnatal leave period and up until the first year of life, they will be entitled to a social benefit equivalent to 60% of their average monthly salary, calculated according to the immediate 12 months prior to the birth of the child. This allows the mother to return to work.

There is another very important aspect. Those mothers who return to work during this social benefit period (after their postnatal leave and before their child’s first birthday) have the right to simultaneity receive their salary and the social benefit, provided that this benefit is not being claimed by the relative caring for the child.

What are the key aspects of Decree-Law 340 on the Modification of Special Social Security Regimes?
This introduced changes in the requirements, in order that women workers registered for these special schemes are entitled to the monetary benefit.
The decree-law establishes that the corresponding contribution period includes that period in which the worker was exempted from contributing under the law, which protects her, due to sickness or on the maternity leave of a previous pregnancy.
Today, given the introduction of this contribution, the contribution period will include that in which she is exempt, to ensure that, in any case, she generates the right to the monetary maternity benefit.
I think it is important to note that the Social Security benefits differ under each of the regimes – the general regime that includes women workers in the non-state sector and the special regimes – because these benefits are adjusted according to the conditions in which each of these workers carry out their activities.

Based on the principle of equality, the same rights are protected, but adjusted to the particular conditions of the work carried out by each woman.

In economic terms, how much does this policy represent?
The Cuban state allocates substantial resources to Social Security. The approved budget for 2017 amounted to 6 billion pesos.
Today the Cuban population aged 60 and over represents 19.6% of the population. The forecast for the year 2030 is 30.3% of the population. The resources required to sustain this system will be substantial, because of the number of pensions that will be owing to those reaching this age by that time, in addition to health costs.

It is important that the measures adopted be directed toward two fundamental aspects: to stimulate fertility in women, to guarantee the replacement rate, that is, to increase the number of people of working age, as the guarantee of the human resources needed to meet the needs of society, following their incorporation in to the workplace as a productive force.

The second aspect is to stimulate the majority employment of all those persons able to work, as this constitutes the cornerstone of Social Security. This guarantees the sustainability of our Social Security system, which is the same as saying our socialist social system.
Maternity benefits equal to the minimum wage.

In Cuba, monetary maternity benefit is granted to women workers over a period of 18 weeks of paid maternity leave.

Once a woman reaches the 34th week of pregnancy, or the 32nd week if carrying multiple children, she is entitled to paid maternity leave for the six weeks prior to giving birth and 12 weeks afterwards.

What is known as the social benefit is granted once the paid leave period ends, up until the child reaches their first birthday. This benefit is optional, the mother can decide whether to receive this benefit herself, or for it to correspond to another working family member who cares for the child.

Rights for the whole family
Other rights are extended in the new legislation, such as unpaid leave. Previously these were exclusive to the mother or the father. This leave period can now be taken by grandparents, if the parents so decide.

The law grants a further period of three months of unpaid leave, once the child is a year old, if the main carer is unable to immediately return to work. Following the adoption of the new legislation, during this period, the mother or father can return to work if they wish and delegate the child’s care to the grandparents, in which case they will be entitled to this unpaid leave period.

Special regimes
Special regimes are designed for self-employed women workers, artists, creators, and usufructuaries of agricultural land. The law previously required a Social Security contribution period of 12 months immediately prior to reaching the 34th week of pregnancy, in order to earn the right to monetary maternity benefit.

With the new provisions, women workers under special regimes will in all cases generate the right to this benefit.

(Granma)