1. Women and Minorities in Castro’s Cuba

2. Treatment of Women
One of the most significant changes brought about by the Cuban Revolution has been to the lives and status of women in Cuba.
Prior to 1959…
few rights, expected to sacrifice education and employment for domestic life
The revolution promised equality and social justice to all – particularly for women and minorities

3. Treatment of Women Cuban Women’s Federation (FMC)
Continues to be influential in policymaking regarding education, healthcare, women’s employment, day care , sexual discrimination and family life (over 85% of Cuban women are members)
Cuban Women’s Federation (FMC)
created in 1960 and played a major role in development of social services, esp. literacy crusades
Est. of a national childcare system – allowed women to pursue careers
Rural education campaign gave peasant women modern healthcare info
Discouraged exploitation of women and ed. opportunities to thousands of maids, prostitutes

4. Treatment of Women Family Code (1975)
Recognized equal rights of both spouses and encouraged shared domestic duties/child care
Divorce was legalized and simplified
As in both Soviet Union and China, this was difficult to enforce because traditional attitudes toward gender roles were difficult to overcome.

5. Treatment of Women Gains for women under Castro:
Increased education/literacy (esp. higher ed)
Increase in higher paid employment (technical, administrative, service jobs)
Equal pay to that of men
There continued (and still continues) to be low representation of women in higher-level Communist Party positions (though higher rep of women in politics than in other countries)

6. Treatment of Minorities
Demographic shift – mulatto population
1953 – 27%
1990 – 60%
In 1959, Castro called for an “end to racial discrimination” in all aspects of Cuban society.
Racism had long been ignored in Cuba
The revolution seemed to have officially achieved racial equality - even though racist mentalities didn’t change
Afro-Cubans benefitted from the revolution, but were still statistically underrepresented in higher ed and professional jobs.

7. Treatment of Minorities (Counter-Revolutionaries)
In 1960, Castro started the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
these were est. throughout every Cuban neighborhood and were designed to report “counter-revolutionary” activity
The CDR has the right to know the activities of each person on the block and Cubans have to be very careful what they said or do since they are constantly being monitored

8. Treatment of Minorities (Counter-Revolutionaries)
Thousands were housed and executed at the UMAPs – they were “officially” closed in 1967 after international outrage. Castro acknowledges that Cuba still holds political prisoners, but that they are in jail for “counter-revolutionary crimes”, not their political beliefs.
The committees have often received negative international attention and have been cited by human rights groups as engaging in “horrendous acts of repudiation” against “counter- revolutionaries”
Such targets include “fascists”, “CIA operatives”, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses
Military Units to Aid Production (UMAPs) were est. in to confine these “social deviants” and to have the military work the “counter-revolutionary” influences out of them

9. Treatment of Minorities (Counter-Revolutionaries)
Fidel Castro portrays opposition to the Cuban government as…
Illegal
The result of an ongoing conspiracy fostered by Cuban exiles with ties to the US or the CIA
Many of Castro’s supporters say that his measures are justified to prevent the fall of the government, but his opponents say that Castro uses the US as an excuse to justify his continuing political control.