[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]
Hundreds of Cuban women gathered at Mariana Grajales Park in Havana to denounce the Trump administration’s intensification of the U.S. government’s 60-year economic war on Cuba.
According to Teresa Amarelle Boue, Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC, for its acronym in Spanish), women are among the sectors of the population most directly affected by U.S. sanctions.
For women, the impact is felt both in their professional and personal lives, as many bear the primary responsibility for running households and caring for children and the sick, tasks that have become increasingly difficult under the tightened embargo. This is the case of Cecilia Valdés, a caregiver daughter who explains that her mother has been unable to access medication due to restrictions caused by the embargo.
Tuesday’s gathering also paid tribute to the 96th anniversary of Vilma Espín, the late leader of the organization, who devoted much of her life’s work to the empowerment of women within the Cuban Revolution.