Women in Cuba: The making of a revolution within the revolution

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Women in Cuba: The making of a revolution within the revolution is not a book about women per se, but about the Cuban Revolution with first hand accounts of two of its leaders – Vilma Espín and Asela de Los Santos. “What strikes the reader more than anything else in Espin’s account is the absence of dogma or schemas, the absence of clotted political jargon. There was only one guide: opening the way for the broadest layers of women to become involved – with organisation, effectiveness, and discipline – in ongoing struggles and the construction of a new social order,” Mary-Alice Waters notes in her introduction.

Yolanda Ferrer, a generation younger than the other women, as a 15-year-old took part in the national literacy campaign in 1961, was a founding member of the revolutionary militias, and is now General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women and a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.

Their stories give a rich history of the Revolution, in which men and women played leadership roles and fought courageously along side each other. There are some humorous moments too, such as when Castro explained to a meeting in 1960 fundamental aspects of the Revolution and women’s place in it. The integration of women into the workforce was a bit too much from some:

“My wife doesn’t need to work,” some said. “I’m supporting her.” Or “Who will do the cooking?”; “Who will do the cleaning?”; “Who will wash the clothes and care for the children?”.

“This was the battle for consciousness of men and women …,” Asela de Los Santos says. A really great read, in particular, for anyone interested in the Revolution, politics, building of socialism, including women’s equality.