Cuban Revolution Essay Example for Free

Cuban Revolution Essay The effects of the Cuban Revolution on women’s lives and gender relations in Cuba from 1959 to 1990 include that some say women have not reached equality yet with men, women gained more opportunities for themselves, economy and politics, and also how women still had responsibility for children and home, not men. One effect of the Cuban Revolution on women was the thought that women still have not reached equality with men. Ofelia Dominguez Navarra (#1), a female Cuban socialist feminist, believes an effect of the Cuban Revolution will change the social status of women to be less patriarchal. As a Cuban feminist, she probably believed this because the revolutionaries could change the Cuban Civil Code. Fidel Castro (#5), the Cuban president, believes an effect of the Cuban Revolution on women’s gender relations is that they will still be discriminated against, but will take some more time before women have full equality. Castro probably has this point of view because his audience was women and he wanted to be realistic so they understand the effort it is going to take to stop the oppression of women. Alina Fernandez (#6), a new mother and the daughter of president Castro, believes that despite the Cuban Revolution, there was no effect change in women’s rights in the home. Being expelled by her own father, she probably believes this because she lost her future job and now must struggle on her own to support her baby. An additional document that would help see their point of views how women did not gain much would be a letter from a single mother or supporter that did not get help with her problems. This would be helpful because it would show that even after the revolution, there was not a great effect for some women in a good way, and possibly even made it a harder life to care for her kids and herself. Another effect of the Cuban Revolution on women was that women gained more opportunities for themselves, economy, and politics. Yolanda Ferrer (#2), a female politician of Cuba, expresses her belief that an effect of the Cuban Revolution on women was that a school for peasant women was created to teach basic job skills. As a woman, she probably believed this was good because it educated women and got them out of the house into jobs, which they had previously been excluded from. Genoveva Diaz, daughter of a Cuban revolutionary (#4), states her belief in an interview in 1970 that an effect on women from the Cuban Revolution gave women more opportunities to work in society and become equal to men. She probably had this point of view because before the revolution, women did not have freedom, money, or facilities to study; which are accessible now for women to use and work in society. A Cuban mother interviewed by a United States journalist in 1980(#7), believes that an effect of the Cuban Revolution on women was the Family Code introduction, which guarantees equal rights to women in their homes. She probably believes this because day care centers help them and her daughters are able to collect an education. The United Nations, along with other international organizations (#8), collected data from Latin American communities to show that an effect of the Cuban Revolution was that women went from being significantly less educated than men to ability to be equally literate and involve a contribution to the economy. They had this point of view because of the social changes happening between 1953 and 1982 that caused the illiteracy rate of women to drop, as well as men, and increased the participation of women in the economy. The Communist Party (#9), showed an effect of the Cuban Revolution on women over time had an increased say in government and women’s rights. As politicians in Cuba, the Communists party published this because it made them look like a better political party due to the increased number of women participating in political matters, which they approve. An additional document that would be helpful seeing the positive effects of the revolution would be a speech from a political leader about how the growth of women has been surprising and helpful to the country. This would help because it would recognize how women’s contributions are needed to strengthen the country and prosper. Also, an effect of the Cuban Revolution on women was how women were still responsible for taking care of the children and home, not the men. A male Cuban revolutionary sympathizer (#3), expresses his thoughts about women’s rights to an anthropologist in 1969, believing that an effect on women’s lives from the Cuban Revolution was that it gave women more freedom by gaining jobs, which he thought was wrong. As a male Cuban, he has this belief because it takes power away from men and time away from household tasks that aren’t preformed throughout the day by the woman. Vilma Espin, a female scientist, president of the Federation of Cuban women, and a member of the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee (#10), believes an effect of the Cuban Revolution on women is that they created a more stressful life to handle. She probably believes this because women gained jobs, but are still held responsible for raising children and household chores, rather than men contribute. An additional document that would be helpful on understanding this effect would be a journal entry or letter from a wife with children who had a job, creating a â€Å"double work shift. This would be helpful because we would get a look at first hand experience how hard and tiring it was to be responsible for so many things at high expectations from men. Thus, the effects of the Cuban Revolution on women’s lives and gender relations in Cuba from 1959 to 1990 include that some say women have not reached equality yet with men, women gained more opportunities for themselves, economy and politics, and also how women still had responsibility for children and home, rather than men.