Ladies in White

  Ladies in White is an opposition movement in Cuba created by wives and mothers of 75 individuals accused of acts against the independence or territorial integrity of the state. They protest wearing white clothes to simbolize peace. Each marcher wears a button with a photo of her jailed relative and the number of the years to which he has been sentenced. After each Mass, they began a ritual procession from the church to a nearby park. Ladies in White has been attacked by sizable mobs, being insulted and humilliated by the police, even some of their houses have been ransacked.

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Women's Roles

  The Revolution has successfully incorporated women into industrial, agricultural, and professional occupations. By 1990, half the doctors and most of the dentists in the country were women.

  In 1961, the Revolution began to construct day care centers to free women from constant child care long enough to develop a career or contribute to industrial, agricultural, or intellectual activity. Women's economically productive activity is thought to serve the country as a whole.

  But men still continue to expect women to perform housework and maintain child-rearing responsibilities even if they have full-time careers outside the home and participate in FMC activities. The People's Power attempted to address this recalcitrance by enacting a generous maternity law in 1974 and the "Family Code" in 1975. This code defined domestic chores as the responsibility of both partners and required husbands to do half the housework if their wives worked outside the home. This is ideologically consistent with socialism, but enforcement of the codes has been difficult, as men are reluctant to relinquish their privilege.

Women's Rights in Cuba

        During the first part of the 20th Century, women in Cuba had achieved a similar status with that of other Latin American countries, such as Chile. In 1993 Cuban women received the vote. In 1934 the percentages of Cuban women working outside the home were higher than many Latin American countries. Women in Cuba had been chosen to Cuba's House of Representatives and Senate, serving as mayors and judges among others. Years later, the discrimination on the basis of sex was prohibited and called for equal pay for equal work. In 1959, the Federation of Cuban Women was recognised by the Cuban government as "the national mechanism for the advancement of women in Cuba". Nowadays, according to the Cuban Constitution, the state guarantees women the same opportunities and possibilities as men.