The Cuban Revolution: Forgetting Gender Equality
Abstract:
The island nation of Cuba offers an interesting case study in the context of Latin American history due to the success of its Revolution in regards to the overall improvement of its citizens’ lifestyles and access to resources. Women’s autonomy in particular was greatly expanded following the Revolution of 1959 the areas of access to healthcare, education, and new economic opportunities and will serve as the focus of my research. While there is no denying that these factors have greatly impacted the general independence of women in Cuban society, societal views of women as caretakers still persist and have led to women taking on a “double shift”. The “double shift” is the idea that women directly participate in the market place by working a career, but are still expected to take care of all household affairs extending from child care to general household upkeep. By observing the expansion of female autonomy in Cuba from the time of the Revolution to the Special Period of the 1990s’, we may determine the factors that have led to these attitudes and caused them to persist. My research indicates that this lack of social equality can be attributed to the lack of inclusion in stated Revolutionary ideals and to the upholding of traditional gender roles by society in a post-Revolution world. Any gender gaps in regards to economic freedoms or social autonomy in a post-Revolution world would be because gender equality was not initially intended, but rather came as a byproduct of the changing society. By analyzing where the Revolution of ‘59 fell short in terms of achieving complete female autonomy during the Revolution and the years that followed, the mistakes that were made may be prevented from recurring in other movements today.