Your Honors,
It is our obligation to discuss the impact of the United States' blockade on Cuba, specifically focusing on its profound effects on Cuban women.
Let us remember that this is mainly a geopolitical issue; But we must admit that this is creating a major human rights issue. The statistics highlight the scope of the problem, but it is our responsibility to translate these numbers into meaningful action. We must advocate for policies that prioritize the well-being of Cuban women, lifting the barriers that hinder their access to healthcare, education, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The barriers are not Cuba’s socioeconomic system but the political and economic unilateral sanctions that the US Blockade imposed.
Cuba is a country that has endured a dreadful economic, financial and commercial blockade and harsh diplomatic retaliation for its political stance for many years. Yet Cuba has managed to develop gender equality admirably despite the economic effect of the blockade, that has experienced.
Cuba has outpaced the majority of developed states in the political empowerment of women. Women's participation in Parliament is more than 55%, in State and Government positions 51.5%, of the members of the Council of State 52.3%. In Ministerial positions 48.5% and in elected governors and deputy governors, 53.3%.
I will concentrate on OXFAM’s Report of 2021 and the statistics that through a detailed analysis and the examples presented serve to prove the situation.
Based on solid evidence, it condemns the blockade’s direct effects on the daily lives of Cuban women, who endure the brunt of this hostile policy that diminishes their opportunities for autonomy and development. Failure to recognize the differentiated impact of the blockade on women has perpetuated gender gaps and impeded women from realizing their goals.
The Report describes how the economic blockade has led to a staggering reduction in the Cuban GDP, with estimates suggesting losses amounting to billions annually. While these figures might seem abstract, they translate into tangible consequences for the lives of Cuban women.
In the Report, there are many statistics but we should see behind them. They are not mere data points but individuals with aspirations, dreams, and an inherent right to a life free from the shackles of economic adversity.
Statistics reveal that the blockade restricts Cuba's access to vital medical resources and technologies. Women, as primary caregivers in many households, are directly affected by the scarcity of medicines and medical equipment. Maternal and reproductive health is compromised, leading to increased challenges for expectant mothers and their families.
In 2019, there were almost half a million (479,623) healthcare professionals, 71 percent of them women. Women also represent the majority of healthcare professionals in Cuba’s medical missions to over 60 countries.
Women in science account for 53 percent of workers in the sector while many of the scientists who have been working on the clinical trials for Cuba’s COVID-19 vaccine candidates are women.
For Cuban scientists, the blockade’s practical restrictions require tireless, innovative efforts, often means long working hours that disrupt the balance between work, family life, and personal time.
In education, despite making progress towards enhanced access to information technology, the blockade has slowed the use of new technologies, forcing Cuban education authorities to resort to older methods.
Cubans with disabilities, due to the blockade, are deprived from accessing Apple equipment and software, which are very efficient in enabling social inclusion and personal autonomy as well as improve their quality of life and health.
The blockade conduces to economic hardships, affecting employment, entrepreneurial opportunities exacerbating gender inequalities in the workforce. This not only hinders economic empowerment but also perpetuates a cycle of dependence.
Statistical analyses of household incomes and expenditures underscore the difficulties faced by Cuban women as they strive to meet the basic needs of their loved ones.
Cuba gives extra effort to support and engage in development processes people living in vulnerability, whether due to their age, sex, sexual orientation or identity, place of residence, educational level, skin color, or physical or mental condition or ability, since the blockade affects them harder.
By addressing the adverse effects of the unjust blockade on Cuban women, we not only stand for the principles of fairness and humanity but also contribute to building a world where every woman, regardless of her nationality, can pursue her dreams unencumbered by the chains of economic injustice, neither by US or it’s allies’ interests and desires who behave as the “powerful global gatekeepers of the planet”.