March 8th, International Women’s Day, is recognized around the world as both a day to celebrate the advances women have made around the world, and a day of struggle towards equality and for women’s rights. In Canada women still have many struggles to be overcome, including achieving equal pay, equal representation in government, and ending violence against women. While there are many hard-fought gains, women still have a long way to go.
Women in Canada and around the world can look to inspiring examples in Cuba and Venezuela, as women there are taking a leading role in the revolutionary processes in their countries and advancing women’s equality in every sector of society. In Cuba since the triumph of the revolution in 1959, women have been organizing a “revolution within a revolution”. The gains of women in Cuba range from free or affordable childcare ensuring that women have the ability to work, to women making up 48.9% of Cuba’s parliament. With the upcoming elections, it is anticipated that Cuba’s next parliament will be over 53% female. In Venezuela, after 20 years of the Bolivarian revolution, women are actively participating in and leading their society forward. Their efforts are backed by their constitution which was re-written after the election of former President Hugo Chavez to be gender inclusive and enshrine women’s rights, and Venezuelan women also have a Ministry of Popular Power for Women and Gender Equality.
In Vancouver on March 9, Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) held a special event for International Women’s Day in downtown Vancouver, celebrating the revolutionary women of Cuba and Venezuela. The event started out with an opening by Coast Salish elder and activist Kelly White, Vivian Sandy, an Indigenous elder of the Shuswap and Northern Diné nations, Martin Sparrow of the Musqueam nation and Shona Shuter of the Upper Nicola Okanagan nation. Through their words, drumming and song, participants recognized that the event was taking place on unceded and traditional Indigenous territories.
Participants then heard greetings from Tatiana Vizcaya, the Second Consul of the Venezuelan Consulate in Vancouver, who shared some of the work being done to advance women’s equality and address issues facing women in Venezuela. Following Tatiana was Tania Lopez Larrouque, the Cuban Consul General in Toronto, who spoke via video conference to share words of solidarity and highlighted the importance of women in Cuba’s revolutionary process.
Members of Proyecto Cultural Sur – Vancouver, a Latin American cultural organization, as well as Nicaraguan activist Mayra Climaco then shared beautiful poetry in both English and Spanish, reflecting the struggles and strength of women. The audience was then treated to a live music performance by Bouna Vedere Jabu and Brian Baroda. Bouna Vedere Jabu is a former member of the two-time Grammy winning Soweto Gospel Choir of South Africa, and with her music she had the whole room out of their seats and dancing!
Those attending then became much more active participants, as everyone split up into groups with team names like “Luchadores”, “Lions”, “Trouble” and “Late-comers” to take part in a trivia game! The teams answered questions about the heroic struggle of revolutionary women in Venezuela and Cuba, and engaged in a friendly competition to test their knowledge and learn more!
Participants then heard a first-hand report from Venezuela, from three VCSC organizers who had just returned from Venezuela earlier that day, where they attended an international solidarity conference. The three delegates were Tamara Hansen, coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba, Alison Bodine, coordinator of the Fire This Time Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, and Azza Rojbi, coordinator of Friends of Cuba against the U.S. Blockade. They shared their experiences from the conference and particularly a women-centered segment of the conference and International Women’s Day in Venezuela, alongside a slideshow of photos from the events.
At the close of the event, the Indigenous elders gathered everyone together for a blanketing ceremony to honor the Venezuelan consul and the recently returned participants from the Venezuela solidarity conference.
From start to finish this event left participants inspired by the accomplishments of women in Cuba and Venezuela, and more determined to continue struggling to achieve justice and equality for women. To find out about upcoming events in solidarity with Cuba please visit www.vancubasolidarity.com or on Facebook and Twitter @VanCuba_VCSC
Follow Janine Solanki on Twitter: @janinesolanki
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