It was not until I read the anthology Black Feminisms, a collection of worksby important female authors in the United States, especially a text by Angela Davis, which meant a great deal to me, that I recognized the face of a movement with which I would come to fully identify. The essential approach of these feminists is that being a woman is not a universal condition, nor can it be considered apart from other forms of discrimination and violence, including that based on class and skin color.
It is no coincidence that this feminist tendencyprovides one of the fundamental theoretical supports of current decolonialized and anti-capitalist feminism in Latin America, also inspired by criticism of mimicry of the West,which has plagued a significant portion of Latin American social thinkers, in addition to the history of the forms of organization and struggle against patriarchy developed by women in our region.
What is interesting is that when one reads Fidel's speeches on the subject in the early years of the Revolution, as well as statements by Vilma Espín, one realizes that this women's movement, which later became institutionalized with the founding of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) on August 23, 1960, is perhaps, from a historical point of view, the first truly decolonialized movement for the emancipation of women in Latin America, although not the only one.
The achievements in terms of gender rights and equity since the first years of the revolutionary process provide convincing evidence supporting the hypothesis of many feminists who, early on, recognized capitalism as an organic ally of patriarchy and insisted that, for a significant number of women in the world, the struggle for gender emancipation could not be conducted without, at the same time, advancing the struggle against capitalism and racism.
All structures of domination must be dismantled in order for women to find ways to develop our full potential. Vilma's ideas on the importance of eliminating exploitation based on social class as a necessary condition to advance toward other forms of emancipation were in tune with what was being proposed by Black feminists in the United States. It is no accident that some of the principal figures within this current sympathized with the Cuban Revolution. Vilma's thinking likewise reflects the theses that today are defended by popular feminist movements on our continent.
From this point of view, attacks on the FMC in counterrevolutionary media campaigns, for allegedly not declaring itself feminist, are unfair and tendentious, when objectively it is one of the most revolutionary, vanguard women's movements in Latin America, with the greatest potential to win effective equality, as has been demonstrated over the course of the Revolution itself.
The National Program for the Advancement of Women, approved by Presidential decree on March 9, 2021, is the product of many years of research and work by women in a variety of sectors and entities, nurtured and coordinated by the FMC. The program has a systemic, inclusive, inter-sectoral scope,based on the assumption of our model of society as a necessary condition, and is an expression of the political will of the government to radicalize the struggle for women's rights in Cuba.
It is difficult to imagine that a program of such scope could be effective in any other system, withoutthe power of ours to articulate around a single agenda so many institutions, organizations, political and social actors. Given the panorama faced by most of our sisters around the world, Cuban women are privileged.
Nonetheless, reality is much more complex than the projects on paper. The most significant challenge is to ensure that the gender-transforming potential of the program becomes effective in terms of our daily practices,within which traces of patriarchal culture continue to persist.
Groups of women continue to walk on a “slippery slope" when theyattempt to combine a professional career and taking care of children and/or their own parents at home; when their family environments and relationships are marked by violence;or when as a result of unprotected sexual relations, they become pregnant at an early age and are unable to take advantage of the many opportunities for advancement available, among other conditions of vulnerability.
Women encounter difficulties in the full development of their capacity when they encounter "glass ceilings" on their career paths, violence that is not explicit, but is expressed in very subtle ways through prejudices, taboos, attitudes, reminding them what "their limits" should be and what "their place" is.
Some women must still deal with situations in which they are less recognized than their peers when performing the same activity. Certain professions and activities are still male dominated,and women who venture into them must face prejudice and resistance.
How much longer will we wait to see female figures playing a role in public affairs that better matches the great responsibility they bear in so many other arenas? How many lesbian and transgender women have encountered difficulties in becoming fully integrated in their residential or work communities because of discriminatory attitudes? What are the effective opportunities for women to participate on equal terms in new forms of economic ownership and management?
I invite you to read the National Program for the Advancement of Women. It outlines a course of action that will allow us to make progress in addressing all the aforementioned issues; to advance toward a more promising scenario in combating violence and in terms of rights and equity. The program will be effective if we make it a working tool to bring a gender perspective to every organization and institution, that is, make visible, in all cases, the many kinds of conditions that stifle or harm women, and take the actions required to transform these conditions.
The liberal approach has colonized feminist activism in many areas of our region. Women organizing on the basis of popular feminisms know all too well that this type of agenda cannot solve the problems they face.On the contrary, it contributes to their reproduction. It is activism that complacently accepts the structures of class and race domination, and serves neoliberal policies. Activism that focuses on the struggle for specific laws without mentioning one iota the role of capitalism in the oppression of women.
Our country has not escaped this type of laboratory feminism, which ignores the achievements of the Revolution in advancing gender issues, and attacks the FMC rather thanoffering responsible, committed criticism,given that the institution represents an important resource for women fighting for their rights.When referring to the conditions of violence faced by women in Cuba, theyfabricate a scenario of total impunity and abandonment by the State, equating the situation of Cuban women to that in other regions of the world, based on an ahistorical and biased analysis of figures taken out of context, whilecalling for a women's strike as a form of struggle imported from other places, where the state is negligent or complicitin the criminal structures responsible for murdering or disappearing women.
This is feminism that presents itself as apolitical and non-ideological, that speaks of rights in the abstract, that does not commit itself to the central struggle of Cuban women, criticalto preserving any guarantee of greater equality, which is the struggle tocontinuethe Revolution’s work and the defense of socialism. These allegedly feminist attacks are nothing more than the manipulation of a sensitive social problem, as has been attempted with other issues, to promote propaganda meant to discredit the state, the government’s work, and Cuba’s political system.
But, lurking around private digital media or dependent on U.S. government front groups that provide salariesto support their lifestyle, these critics have not found an echo in our institutions, organizations, communities or neighborhoods. The "civil society" they speak of is limited to a few hundred likes on social networks.
The National Program for the Advancement of Women, the FMC's tradition of struggle, our real conquests, the effective rights we enjoy, the revolutionary criticism and the leadership of Cuban women in multiple scenarios prevail.
Nevertheless, the road forward must continue, until every patriarchal practice is overcome. The economic changes underway are configuring a future scenario of more heterogeneity in Cuban society, with an impact on women's lives. It will be necessary to carefully monitor how indicators of social differentiation evolve and intersect in terms of position within the socio-class structure, in terms of gender and skin color,given the population’s socioeconomic condition. It will be necessary to implement effective social policies for greater equity where zones of vulnerability for women are evident.
Our socialism is being called upon, by Cuban women of this era, to mobilize its potential to achieve greater gender equity and the FMC is undoubtedly at the forefront of this beautiful, important mission. Long live our organization.
