Gender and Democracy in Cuba

2. Changing Gender Relations: The Social and Economic Sphere after 1959

2 Changing Gender Relations The Social and Economic Sphere after 1959 [The] phenomenon of women’s participation in the revolution was a revolution within a revolution. And if we are asked what the most revolutionary thing is that the revolution is doing, we would answer that it is precisely this—the revolution that is occurring among the women of our country! Fidel Castro Women’s participation in the revolutionary struggle set the stage for a fundamental change in women’s role in Cuban society following the January 1959 victory of the July 26th Movement, which ousted the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Fidel Castro recognized women’s participation in the struggle and eloquently advocated for the need to change prevailing gender relations. Cuban leaders today continue to highlight Castro’s personal commitment to achieving gender equality. For example, Nieves Alemañy, a member of the National Directorate of the Federation of Cuban Women (Federación de Mujeres Cubanas, or FMC), affirmed: “When the revolution triumphed, in the first speeches, in the speech he gave in Santiago de Cuba before he arrived in Havana, he stated that one of the principles was [support for] women in the revolution.1 From the beginning, the problem of women’s equality is incorporated into the revolution’s principles.”2 Margaret Randall, one of the most astute and knowledgeable observers on the situation women confront in revolutionary societies, maintains that revolutionary movements have too often neglected to fight for women’s rights upon assuming power. In her view, “socialism’s failure to make room for a feminist agenda . . . is one of the reasons why socialism as a system could not survive.”3 Indeed, she considers the lack of a feminist agenda “a fundamental error of twentieth-century revolutions.”4 Richard Harris shares this position, emphasizing that “the historical evidence indicates that Marxism must be refocused to encompass the feminist perspective, and socialist regimes must take the appropriate steps to create the ideological context and material conditions for the genuine emancipation of women and the elimination of gender inequality in all its forms.”5 Cuba is one of the few remaining societies that continue to rely on Marxist principles. Its revolutionary government has had 14 / Gender and Democracy in Cuba a long-standing public commitment toward gender equality. Thus, it is important to assess the Cuban record to establish what a revolutionary process that is approaching its fiftieth anniversary could accomplish. Gender relations have changed dramatically since 1959. It has been well established that women have made great strides due to policies instituted by the revolutionary government. Initially, Cuban authorities sought to transform prevailing gender relations based on the premise that “the precondition of women’s equality was the destruction of private property as the basis for state and family.”6 Following the reasoning of such Marxist thinkers as Friedrich Engels, the government would take on the responsibility of guaranteeing women’s basic needs and establish equality in the public sphere through legislation .7 In this chapter, I analyze the changes taking place in the economic and social arena following the successful revolutionary war. I analyze how women organized themselves to transform Cuban society after 1959, focusing on the role played by the Federation of Cuban Women. I examine the relationship of the FMC with the party and government authorities and trace its development from a powerful grassroots movement into an organization that is considered by many out of touch with the challenges confronting today’s Cuban women. I emphasize the enormous achievements women have made in health and education and discuss women’s incorporation into the labor market. I argue that the Cuban government has succeeded in attending to practical gender interests but has made much less progress in transforming traditional gender relations. I seek to demonstrate that this is to a great extent due to the demobilizing effects of the Cuban approach to achieve gender equality, including the FMC’s monopoly on women’s organizing and the organization’s dependence on the Communist party. The Creation of the Federation of Cuban Women Women were organized throughout the country following the revolution’s victory . The key organizational force facilitating women’s participation was the Federation of Cuban Women, founded on August 23, 1960. The Federation had its roots in a variety of women’s organizations that emerged in the early twentieth century. They included the Comité de Sufragio Feminino (Women’s Suffrage Committee, founded in 1912), the Club Feminino de Cuba (Women’s Club of Cuba...