Women in Cuba:
Statement from the Independent Feminists' Organization

Conditions for Cuban women have deteriorated in recent years. An autocratic and totalitarian leader's machismo has led us to total impoverishment and the constant preoccupation for the survival of our children, who are mistreated, imprisoned or denied their most fundamental freedoms.

Cuban women have been victims of mistreatment, indefatigably working long hours, yet being marginalized and deprived of our rights as human beings.

Our primary role is that which is defined by the machista elite: to serve our fathers, then our husbands and sons, always needing to find some way to continue surviving in these most difficult circumstances. And on top of this we must always remain silent, despite the alleged and much-touted "equality" of Cuba's women.

We call on all women and men in Cuba to raise their consciousness. It is time to say "Enough!" to this tyrannical government, to eradicate the psychosis of the official war mentality, to struggle for a Cuba free of resentments and hatreds. It is time to put an end to the injustices, to fight against oppression. And it is time to struggle for a Cuba where men and women can be equally respected, where we can have equal rights, where the old machismo of the male no longer predominates, and where the people's voices are not reduced to silence.

Cuban women: Rise up! Demand that your rights be respected, but demand it with love. With characteristic tenderness, assume your rightful role as guide, and offer your heart free of malice.

Let us begin the journey, firmly refusing to accept that which is inherently unacceptable: THE MUTILATION OF FREE THINKING.

Cecilia Zamora Cabrera, President

Organización Feminista Independiente (OFI)

Distributed by Cubanet