The Women’s Commission of the World Federation of Trade Unions expresses its full and militant solidarity with the Cuban people and the working women of Cuba, who for over sixty years have been resisting with dignity, determination and internationalist spirit the brutal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by US imperialism.
The blockade against Cuba is a criminal act, a form of economic warfare that aims to strangle a people who have chosen their own path of sovereignty, social justice and dignity. This aggressive policy directly affects the daily lives of Cuban workers, seeking to create hardship, scarcity and social pressure.
Yet, despite more than six decades of aggression, Cuba continues to demonstrate to the world that a social model based on workers’ rights, solidarity and equality can guarantee real achievements for women.
Cuban women are protagonists in the economic, social and political life of the country. Universal access to healthcare and education, high female participation in public life and institutions, social policies and the social protection system are concrete achievements that millions of women in the capitalist world still cannot even imagine today.
An emblematic example of this progress is the new Family Code, democratically approved by the Cuban people through a popular referendum, which represents one of the most advanced pieces of legislation in the world on family rights, equality and social justice.
The Code introduces profound innovations that strengthen women’s rights and promote family relationships based on equality, respect and solidarity, including:
- the replacement of the traditional concept of ‘parental authority’ with that of parental responsibility, which establishes equal rights and duties between parents in the care and education of their children;
- the principle of shared responsibility for domestic and care work, recognising the social value of these activities and promoting real equality between men and women in family life;
- the legal recognition of different forms of family, based on affection, solidarity and mutual responsibility;
- equal marriage and full recognition of the rights of same-sex couples;
- the right to adoption without discrimination, based on the best interests of the child;
- the recognition of supportive and non-commercial surrogacy, regulated to guarantee rights and protections;
- the strengthening of protection against domestic and gender-based violence;
- the promotion of the rights of children, the elderly, people with disabilities and caregivers, promoting a society based on intergenerational solidarity.
These achievements show that, despite the blockade and constant imperialist aggression, Cuba continues to advance in building a more just, more supportive and more humane society.
For this reason, the WFTU Women’s Commission strongly supports the WFTU’s international campaign ‘Cuba is not alone’ and calls on all trade unions, working women, popular movements and progressive forces around the world to actively participate in the international week of solidarity from 6 to 12 April.
During these days of mobilisation, we will raise our voices in workplaces, in the streets, in trade unions and in social movements to denounce the criminal blockade against Cuba and to strengthen internationalist solidarity among peoples.
We strongly reiterate:
Cuba is not alone.
Working women around the world stand with the Cuban people.
We demand:
- the immediate and unconditional end to the imperialist blockade against Cuba;
- respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of the Cuban people;
- an end to all policies of aggression and destabilisation against the Cuban Revolution.
The resistance of the Cuban people is a source of inspiration for all working women around the world who are fighting against exploitation, injustice and imperialism.
Long live internationalist solidarity.
Long live the struggle of working women.
Cuba is not alone.
Women’s Commission
World Federation of Trade Unions
