By: Santiago Romero Chang
Translated by MSc. Guillermo Rodriguez Cortes
The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC in Spanish) granted the August 23rd Distinction to professionals from different sectors of society with relevant work in the defense of the Revolution and gender equality.
In the Stained Glass Hall in this city, Yazmin Tortoza, one of the honorees, said that maintaining the legacy of Vilma Espín, eternal president of the organization, and continuing with the defense of the socialist project are commitments of the women’s vanguard. She underlined the challenge of developing policies and programs aimed at achieving the full exercise of women’s equality and against violence and any kind of discrimination.
According to Orestes Batista, director of Oriente Pharmaceutical Lab, and the only awarded man, the distinction means to maintain the leadership of this important industry in the production of medicine for the well-being of the people.
The ceremony was headed by Dayami Cola, official of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and Elena Castillo, secretary of the FMC in the province.
The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) is a Cuban mass organization founded on August 23, 1960, whose objective is the equality and emancipation of women and which has more than four million members. The organization was created by Vilma Espin who presided over the federation until her death on June 19, 2007. In Santiago de Cuba the FMC groups more than 420,000 women and works for the welfare of the family through community, educational, counseling, preventive and social care actions.
Today, the challenges of Cuban women are in important tasks of the Revolution, in the contribution to the social and economic development of the country, in health, science, tourism, in the legal struggles, in the communities, neighborhoods and work and study centers.
Therefore, there are exchanges on family neglect of minors and the elderly, problems of intra-family communication, social problems, attention to the physically challenged and other phenomena related to discrimination and how Fidel warned many problems of today and the role of unity, the leadership of women, the intelligence of women in the difficult but not impossible progress for better social communication, the essential new Cuban Observatory on gender equality, as well as the meeting of Voices of Women for Non-Violence and the National Program for the Advancement of Women.
The Secretary General of the organization at present is Teresa Amarelle. It was agreed that the presidency would remain vacant in memory of Vilma.
The federation was created with already existing organizations, including the Revolutionary Feminine Unity (which brought together a large number of peasant women), the Agrarian Column, the Revolutionary Feminine Brigades, the Humanist Group of Women and the Sisterhood of Mothers, among other groups.
Vilma chose to live on the side of duty
Vilma- Photo: Santiago Romero Chang. On the 16th anniversary of Vilma Espin’s death, Cubans recall her as someone in love with life, who long after abandoning this world, continues at our side. Vilma chose to live on the side of duty
FMC Grants August 23rd Distinction
CMKC in Revolution
Women of Science
By: Santiago Romero Chang
The book “Women of Science” is a set of stories, a text that summarizes, but is not conclusive about the lives of seven women first, then five others who are also considered as examples, paradigms or references on the work of women from Santiago de Cuba in the scientific-technical field.
Not only Santiago de Cuba, but the whole country is happy to have this new book by Dr.C. Giovanni L. Villalon and MSc. Rosaida Savigne, authors of the book «Women of Science», whose text confirms the female leadership of Santiago de Cuba in several contributions with international impact.
Today, Dr. C. Giovanni L. Villalon directs the Caribbean Research Center and does not conclude this book, on the contrary, there are many expectations in the scientific guild because the new birth of “Women of Science” is about to take place with the updating and perspectives of studies.
