By Alejandra Garcia on July 18, 2024, from Havana
Women make up over 55% of Cuba’s National Assembly, photo: Estudios Revolución
The presence of Cuban women in the country’s political life is crucial, and is evidenced in each session of the National Assembly of People’s Power. The recent legislature, formed last year, is composed of 166 women, representing 55.74 percent. This means that women are responsible for the greatest weight of the legal decisions that have a significant social impact on the whole country.
“With this figure, Cuba exhibits, worldwide, a high proportion of women occupying parliamentary seats and ahead lies the challenge of continuing to turn this number into a great opportunity,” Arelys Santana, president of the Permanent Commission of Attention to Youth, Children and Equal Rights of Women, said at the beginning of the current parliamentary session, which started this Wednesday with the presence of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
“We have a unique opportunity, not enjoyed by many women in the world, to unleash a movement that opens doors, that mobilizes consciences, that brings more and more people, groups and organizations into the fight for gender equality,” she continued.
It could not be different. Parliament has been a reflection of Cuban society since 1959, with representation from every sector of the economy. As Cuban women have been gaining space in the country’s economic and political life, these variables have also been reflected in Parliament.
According to official figures, the participation of women for their merits and abilities in the nation’s Parliament has been growing: in the 7th Legislature (2008 to 2013), they constituted 43.32 percent out of its total members, while in the 8th Legislature (2013 to 2018), that figure reached 48.86 percent. These figures are the result of existing policies to guarantee the development of women, expressed in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, and the promotion of initiatives to eliminate gender gaps.
However, not everything is done. The improvement of the Assembly of the People’s Power conceives the need for a harmonious functioning of the system of institutions that comprise it, and within it, the role of women is increasingly significant. “We must improve the value of the preparation of each one of us, to be able to fulfill our legislative and control our mission,” Arelys Santana commented.
Also, “we need to fully understand that there are socially determined differences between women and men, based on learned behavior and a historical and cultural background that places us at different starting points. These differences are expressed in all areas of life, affect women’s ability to access and control resources, and place them in situations of inequity, discrimination and violence,” she added.
Despite this reality, Cuba is privileged. The progress made in this area in recent decades is considered one of the most successful social phenomena of the Cuban Revolution. With Cuban women, feminists around the world learn that women’s struggles are revolutionary, and that radically changing the organization of society is possible. One of the main promoters of women’s rights after the revolutionary triumph of 1959 was Vilma Espín. She assured that Cuban women are “a revolution within the revolution”, even because they were responsible for deepening processes of change and combating patriarchy which is unacceptable in socialism.
Alejandra Garcia is the lead correspondent in Cuba for Resumen Latinoamericano in English and an anchor on TelSur nightly news program in English.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English