Vol. 73/No. 15      April 20, 2009

BY FIDEL CASTRO  
If women in our country were doubly exploited, doubly humiliated in the past, then this simply means that women in a social revolution should be doubly revolutionary. [Applause]

And perhaps this is the explanation, or at least the social basis, for the resolute, enthusiastic, firm, and loyal support given by Cuban women to this revolution.

This revolution has really been two revolutions for women; it has meant a double liberation: as part of the exploited sector of the country, and second, as women, who were discriminated against not only as workers but also as women, in that society of exploitation.

The attitude of Cuban women toward the revolution corresponds to this reality; it corresponds to what the revolution has meant to them.

And the support of the popular masses for the revolution is directly proportional to what the revolution has meant to them in terms of their liberation.

There are two sectors in this country, two sectors of society which, aside from economic reasons, have had other motives for sympathizing and feeling enthusiasm for the revolution. These two sectors are the Black population of Cuba and the female population.

I suppose you recall that in Cuba’s old bourgeois constitution, there was an article which declared illegal any discrimination for reasons of race or sex. The constitution declared such discrimination illegal. But a constitution in a capitalist society, or such an article in a capitalist society, solves nothing, because discrimination for reasons of race and for reasons of sex existed in practice. And the basis for all of this was the existence of a class society which practiced exploitation.

In a class society, which is to say, a society of exploiters and exploited, there was no way of eliminating discrimination for reasons of race or sex. Now the problem of such discrimination has disappeared from our country, because the basis for these two types of discrimination which is, quite simply the exploitation of man by man, has disappeared. [Applause]

Much news reaches us from the United States, for example, about the civil rights struggle of Blacks. Nevertheless, racial discrimination in the United States will not disappear until capitalist society has disappeared.

That is, discrimination will never be wiped out within the framework of capitalist society. Discrimination with respect to race and sex can only be wiped out through a socialist revolution, which eradicates the exploitation of man by man. [Applause]

Now, does the disappearance of the exploitation of man by man mean that all the conditions are immediately created whereby woman may elevate her position in society? No. The conditions for the liberation of women, for the full development of women in society, for an authentic equality of rights, or for authentic equality of women with men in society, require a material base; they require the material foundations of economic and social development.

I described before the opinion held by many men concerning the functions of women, and I said that among the functions considered to belong to women was—almost exclusively— that of having children. Naturally, reproduction is one of the most important of women’s functions in human society, in any kind of human society.

But it is precisely this function, relegated by nature to women, which has enslaved them to a series of chores within the home.

There is a sign here in front of us, for example, which says, “One million women working in production by 1970.” Unfortunately, it will not be possible to have one million working in production by 1970. We feel that this goal may be reached, perhaps, within ten years but not within four.

We could propose it as a goal to be reached by 1975. Why can’t this goal be reached in four years? Because in order to have one million women working in production, we must have thousands of children’s day nurseries, thousands of primary boarding schools, thousands of school dining halls, thousands of workers’ dining halls; thousands of centers of social services of this type must be set up, because if not, who is going to cook for the second- or third-grade child when he comes home for lunch?

Who is going to care for unweaned infants, or babies of two, three, and four years of age? Who is going to prepare dinner for the man when he comes home from work? Who is going to wash, clean, all of those things? [Applause]

In other words, in order to reach the social goal of liberating women from all these activities that enslave her and impede her from full incorporation into work outside the home and all these activities she can engage in society, it is necessary to create the necessary material base, to attain the necessary social development.

It is impossible to construct the required thousands of children’s day nurseries, school dining halls, laundries, workers’ dining halls, boarding schools, in four years. In fact, merely to meet present needs, great effort is necessary on all fronts.
 
 
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