Havana, 23 August, 2024.- Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, has sent a message of congratulations "to all Cuban women for the heroic work they have carried out in these 64 years, for what they have done and continue to do," the Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Women reported on the social network X.
Without the need for words, women's hands surpass the falsehood and embrace the truths, because they speak a language that is revealed only to them. The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC in Spanish) has accompanied its mother, the Revolution, on its journey, grateful for the gift of freedom and willing to extend it for the benefit of all, the only way to pay the debt of its existence.
On 23 August 1960, Cuban women united their efforts in a single organisation and elected Vilma Espín Guillois as their first and eternal leader. From that moment on, they began their struggle for an essential role in a society dedicated to justice.
However, conscience lags behind political will, and this gap imposed the urgent and still current task of eradicating centuries of legacies of mental colonialism.
Until the fall of the neocolonial republic, the most fortunate followed the preordained destiny of finding a good man - for his money - and fulfilling the service of the guardians of the home. In other cases, poverty and few alternatives forced them to stain their dignity in degrading activities, including prostitution.
Against the worst of the past, the FMC bet on the future, and its representatives sought the best in themselves to give it to the call of each achievement, in a country overflowing with them. Their faces are engraved in every sphere of human creation.
The greatest guarantee for the continuation of the struggle lies in non-conformity, and the present poses enormous challenges in order to safeguard the common dream. This organisation, like every daughter of the revolutionary process, must connect with the deepest part in order to mobilise the most beautiful endeavour: the enlargement of the homeland.
This important milestone was not given for granted at the Embassy of Cuba in South Africa, where women were celebrated for their commitment, their sacrifice and their contribution to the Revolution and the homeland from their daily work.
(Cuban Embassy in South Africa)