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News & Reports 2008 Also see: Also see: 1 Cuban law may recognise same-sex partners, say officials 1/08 2 Gay marriage? Unrestricted travel? Cubans are increasingly speaking their minds 2/08 3 Castro's departure brings hope for gay Cubans 2/08 4 Castro champions gay rights in Cuba 3/08 5 It begins Saturday the 17th with a broad public program: Cenesex 5/08 6 Raul Castro's daughter spearheads anti-homophobia drive 5/08 7 Belgian surgeons to perform Cuba's gender reassignment operations 5/08 8 Cuban TV shows Brokeback Mountain as part of anti-homophobia drive 5/08 9 Cuban government backs calls to combat homophobia 5/08
21st January 2008 1 by Gemma Pritchard Cenesex, which was founded in 1989 as a department of the Public Health Ministry, approached Cuba's parliament two years ago with a proposal to overhaul the 1975 Family Code to recognise the rights of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. But it is the Communist Party that will decide whether the proposal becomes law. "We are receiving suggestions and debating adjusting the proposal so it is more flexible and has more chance of being approved," Mariela Castro told EFE. The principal needs of Cuban homosexuals "are related to the right to their recognition as consensual couples, as non-matrimonial couples, but that authorities recognise their property and inheritance rights in those non-legalized unions," she said. "That is their principal interest. They are not interested in marriage, they are not interested in adoption, because in Cuba there are hardly any children to adopt." She added that besides legal recognition, gays, lesbians and transsexuals in Cuba want respect: "Let no one feel the right to humiliate them, nor harm them, nor exclude or reject them, that we strengthen within the family this ethic of accepting everyone and of not being discriminated against for sexual orientation." The Public Health Ministry in Cuba is currently in the process of approving regulations that would allow sex-change operations. Mariela Castro said that a team of Cuban physicians is already in training to perform such procedures. In an interview with EFE last August, the 45-year-old psychologist said her struggle for the equality of the sexes and gay rights would "enrich the Cuban Revolution." But she added that the task is not an easy one in a "patriarchal" society where many remember the UMAP labour camps where homosexuals and the ideologically suspect were interned in the late 1960s.
February 6, 2008 2 Havana (AP) - Taking up Raul Castro's invitation to speak their minds without fear of reprisal, more Cubans have begun publicly complaining and challenging government policies on everything from limits on Internet access to travel restrictions. This week some leading figures called for change: Culture Minister Abel Prieto said that he supports gay marriage, and famed folk singer Silvio Rodriguez said he believes all Cubans should be free to travel abroad and stay in the hotels reserved for foreign tourists. Open challenges of government authority remain rare in Cuba, where the Communist Party dominates all levels of power. But since replacing his older brother Fidel as acting president, Raul Castro has urged Cuban citizens to help shape their country's economic future. Tentatively at first, then more audaciously, Cubans have responded. University students, for example, were outspoken in a town-hall style meeting on Jan. 19 with Ricardo Alarcon, the president of Cuba's legislature. A video of the meeting posted on the Internet shows student leaders challenging him to explain why government policies fail to live up to Cuba's egalitarian ideals. They asked Alarcon why many basic goods including toiletries and clothes are sold in convertible currency meant for tourists and foreigners, making some necessities virtually inaccessible to state employees paid in Cuban pesos worth much less. They complained about laws prohibiting citizens from entering state-run hotels without official permission. They complained about limits on Internet access, and on rules that make getting a travel visa nearly impossible for most Cubans. Alarcon ducked questions about the Internet and called travel a privilege, not a right. When he was their age, before the revolution, he told the students, he wasn't able to enter Cuba's luxury nightclubs or exclusive beaches. "I never set foot in the Tropicana, nor Varadero," he said. "You know why? "Because my father didn't have the money to pay for it!" However, other powerful Cuban figures joined the calls for societal change. "I think that marriage between lesbians, between homosexuals can be perfectly approved and that in Cuba that wouldn't cause an earthquake or anything like that," Prieto, a member of the party's powerful Politburo, told reporters following a screening of a documentary on Rodriguez's career. Cuban lawmakers are considering a proposal to allow gay marriages, though its progress in the legislature's closed-door sessions remains unclear. A 57-year-old writer turned political leader, Prieto is the only top Cuban government official who sports shoulder-length hair. But he is also a member of the island's supreme governing body, the Council of State. And he said he supports what Raul Castro has termed a "debate" on Cuba's future. The "immense majority of intellectuals" want to "confront problems, to battle all expressions of bureaucracy in culture and in society and at the same time defend this revolution and socialism," Prieto said. Rodriguez, whose songs have made him a leading voice of the Cuban revolution, described what Cuba is going through now as "a moment of change, of transition ... not the only one I have lived to see within the revolution." The internationally renowned folk singer is a member of parliament who has long defended the Cuban government in the face of criticism over alleged human rights violations. Nonetheless, Rodriguez said Tuesday that authorities should ease restrictions that prevent many Cubans from entering state-run hotels, traveling overseas and even within their own country. "Permission to leave and enter should be completely open," Rodriguez said. For decades, Cuba has restricted travel to keep citizens from flooding large cities in search of jobs. It also limits visas abroad, citing national security concerns. Since Cuba first began accepting foreign tourists en masse in the early 1990s, most Cubans have been barred from hotels, even if they can pay for rooms. Cubans also are complaining about a law requiring citizens to register their full salaries for taxation if they have been paid illegally in dollars or euros for working for foreign firms or embassies. Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a state-trained economist who became an independent journalist and an anti-communist, documented a Jan. 12 public meeting at state-run employment agency Acroex in which employees criticized the new measure. "Nobody can disagree with Cuban workers paying taxes on their earnings, something which happens in the whole world," Espinosa Chepe wrote in an article released Tuesday. But he blasted government requirements that Cubans who work for foreigners arrange their jobs through state employment agencies, which collect hefty fees in convertible currency and then pay the employees in less valuable regular pesos. In the article, he said the meeting caused such an uproar that officials suspended plans for similar forums at other state-run firms.
19th February 2008 3 by Tony Grew Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We can only hope that a new path will open up after this withdrawal and that there will be more democracy in that country." Sexual diversity was seen by Fidel Castro as a corrupt consequence of capitalism. Cuban poet Jose Mario, an important artistic figure in the country, suffered in Cuban labour camps as Castro's regime 're-educated' homosexuals. Gays were incarcerated in Military Units to Aid Production (UMAPs) between 1965 and 1968. Castro believed that hard work would rid the men of their "counter-revolutionary tendencies." At the entrance of the camp there was a sign which said "work shall make you men", similar to the motto of the Nazi concentration camps, "work shall set you free." Homosexual sex was partially decriminalised in 1979 and an equal age of consent was introduced in 1992. While social attitudes towards gay people are generally negative, the capital city Havana has a thriving gay scene but all gay rights organisations are banned. The former leader's brother Raul Castro, who is acting President, has recently invited his countrymen to speak out without fear, and among complains about taxes and restrictions on foreign travel and internet access the issue of gay rights has come to the fore. Today Fidel Castro announced: "I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander-in-chief. My only desire is to fight as a soldier for my ideas." Last month Mariela Castro, who is the daughter of acting President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel, revealed that the Cuban Communist party is considering granting legal recognition to same-sex unions, as health officials prepare to authorise sex-change operations. The proposed change to Cuban family law would put members of same-sex unions on a par with heterosexual couples. The principal needs of Cuban homosexuals "are related to the right to their recognition as consensual couples, as non-matrimonial couples, but that authorities recognise their property and inheritance rights in those non-legalised unions," she said. "That is their principal interest. They are not interested in marriage, they are not interested in adoption, because in Cuba there are hardly any children to adopt." She added that besides legal recognition, gays, lesbians and transsexuals in Cuba want respect. "Let no one feel the right to humiliate them, nor harm them, nor exclude or reject them, that we strengthen within the family this ethic of accepting everyone and of not being discriminated against for sexual orientation." The Public Health Ministry in Cuba is currently in the process of approving regulations that would allow gender reassignment operations. Mariela Castro said that a team of Cuban physicians is already in training to perform such procedures. In an interview with EFE last August, the 45-year-old psychologist said her struggle for the equality of the sexes and gay rights would "enrich the Cuban Revolution." Last week the Cuban culture minister Abel Preito gave public support to gay marriage. "I think that marriage between lesbians, between homosexuals can be perfectly approved and that in Cuba that wouldn't cause an earthquake or anything like that," said Mr Prieto, who is also a member of the powerful Politburo of the Communist party and the Council of State, the nation's supreme governing body.
27 March 2008 4 by Michael Voss , BBC News, Havana The proposed legislation would recognise same-sex unions, along with inheritance rights. It would also give transsexuals the right to free sex-change operations and allow them to switch the gender on their ID cards, with or without surgery. There are limits: adoption is not included in the bill and neither is the word marriage. "A lot of homosexual couples asked me to not risk delaying getting the law passed by insisting on the word marriage," Mariela Castro said. "In the early years of the revolution much of the world was homophobic. It was the same here in Cuba and led to acts which I consider unjust" Mariela Castro "In Cuba marriage is not as important as the family and at least this way we can guarantee the personal and inheritance rights of homosexuals and transsexuals." She says that her father is supportive of her work, although he advises her to move slowly. "I've seen changes in my father since I was a child. I saw him as macho and homophobic. But as I have grown and changed as a person, so I have seen him change." Mariela's mother, the late Vilma Espin, was an internationally recognised champion of women's rights. For Mariela, it is the rights of homosexuals and transsexuals that need fighting for. Counselling Once a week, a group of transsexuals gathers for a support session at the old Havana mansion which houses Mariela's Sex Education Centre. Their ages range from late teens to mid-40s. All are dressed as women; some have had sex-change operations. Past repression Today Cuba has a vibrant but generally discreet gay scene. There is a popular gay beach in Playas del Este just a short drive from Havana. In the capital itself there are no openly gay bars, but there is a weekly nightclub complete with floor show. The venue also hosts a comedy club one night, a cabaret another. But according to the manager, who asked not to be named or for the club to be identified, it is the gay evening that is always the best attended. The event is perfectly legal but it is not advertised, relying instead on word of mouth. Given Cuba's past treatment of homosexuals, most people here prefer to remain anonymous. In the early days of the revolution many homosexuals were sent to forced labour camps for re-education and rehabilitation. The camps did not last long but still gays were often denied certain jobs as "ideological deviants". In the 1980s, there were orchestrated mass rallies denouncing homosexuals. Ingrained prejudices Sex between consenting adults of the same gender was legalised about 15 years ago, but police harassment and raids on gay gatherings continued until very recently. "In the early years of the revolution much of the world was homophobic. It was the same here in Cuba and led to acts which I consider unjust," said Mariela Castro. "What I see now is that both Cuban society and the government have realised that these were mistakes. There is also the desire to take initiatives which would prevent such things happening again." But it remains an uphill struggle. Old prejudices remain deeply ingrained, particularly amongst the older generation. "It's like an illness or perhaps a character defect," one man explained, asking not to be identified. Others though are more tolerant. Talking to people in the street, many said that they disapproved of homosexuals but felt that people should be free to live their own lives. There is still no guarantee that when the National Assembly convenes later this year, under the watchful eye of Raul Castro, it will approve Mariela's gay rights bill. If it does, though, this would mark a revolutionary change in Cuba's sexual politics.
May 6, 2008 5 by Gerald Arreola/Correspondent Havana, May 5th. Next Saturday the 17th, Cuba will mark, world day of struggle against homophobia for the second time. This is no longer a small gathering of interested people, like last year, but a broad public program, the National Center for Sexual Education (Cenesex) reported. It could be called a public "coming out of the closet" celebration. On Monday, Cenesex put on its website ( www.cenesex.sld.cu ) a call for activities "aimed at displaying and combating all kinds of discrimination, based on sexual orientation and gender identity. " A year ago, Cenesex recalled the date with a movie-discussion session, with the showing of the film Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Pierce, 1999), based on the true story of a transsexual girl. But the turnout at the downtown cinema 23 y 12 was small, less than a hundred people, mostly participants in some of CENESEX sexual diversity programs. In the session, the director of the Center, Mariela Castro Espín, daughter of now-president Raúl Castro, described the crudeness of sexual intolerance with a fresh anecdote. That afternoon, along with transvestites and transsexuals who go to Cenesex, Mariela walked the two blocks from her office to the cinema, experiencing the spontaneous verbal violence towards those people. This year, "with the support of several state institutions, the government and civil society", said the speaker, "we set out to contribute to the education of society as a whole, with emphasis on the family, on the respect for the right to free and responsible sexual orientation and gender identity, like the exercise of the fairness and social justice". Homophobia, said Cenesex, describes aversion, hatred, fear, prejudice or discrimination against homosexuals, extends to bisexuals (biphobia) or transgenders (transphobia) and leads to violent manifestations. The speaker recalled that in 1974, the American Association of Psychiatry eliminated from its Manual of Classification of Mental Illness homosexuality and bisexuality and the World Health Organization adopted the same decision on May 17, 1990. In an interview with La Jornada last December, Mariela Castro considered it necessary to open the debate on homophobia in Cuba, which had penalized "ostensible" homosexuality and secluded homosexuals in agricultural work camps. "In the history of a human being, errors are committed and one must be willing to learn lessons from those errors. But institutions also commit errors and must be able to recognize why it was an error and what it is going to do so that the error is not repeated, what legislation must be adopted, what values it is necessary to institute," said Mariela. The exact program is not yet determined, but it is expected to have at least forum-debates, book presentations, theater functions, transvestism, a cycle of movies and television programs relative to the date.
May 12, 2008 6 Havana (AFP) — President Raul Castro's daughter, Mariela, is organizing Cuba's second anti-homophobia festival this week to boost public awareness of the country's long-marginalized gay community, this time with the approval of her dad's government.
"There's political support for this educational strategy. It's the best thing that's happened to us," Mariela Castro said about the backing the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX) she heads is receiving from Cuba's Communist Party. She said Raul Castro, 76, "is helping us a lot ... not only because I'm his daughter, but because I've earned his respect by working at my job carefully." A teacher and mother of three children, Mariela Castro, 46, took over from her late mother, Vilma Espin, in running Cuban Womens' Federation (FMC) after she died in 2007, and has headed CENESEX for the past 14 years. Her uncle Fidel Castro, 81, relinquished presidential power to his brother Raul, 76, in February citing health reasons. For as long as Cuba's communist revolution began nearly 50 years ago, Mariela and her mother have been busy trying to whittle away at the country's machismo tradition. The week-long festival in Havana and six of Cuba's 14 provinces, aims to increase public awareness about gay rights through television programs, movies, theater, debates and book fairs, culminating with the International Day Against Homophobia, on May 17. Besides the educational efforts, Mariela's group is also busy reforming Cuba's Family Code and has proposed in parliament a bill on freedom of gender -- the right to choose one's gender, and the right to "legal union" for gays. The legal union issue is an effort to sidestep the Catholic Church's determined opposition to gay marriage rights. Sex-change is another controversial issue in Cuba, after the country's first operation in 1988 raised such an outcry that the procedure was put on indefinite hold. "We're getting ready a team of surgeons from Belgium" to restart transgender operations, Mariela told reporters, adding that 30 such procedures have been approved by health authorities. Mariela is hopeful the festival will be successful. "We don't know how the public will react. We suppose it'll go well because of the way we've organized it. It'll help people understand things, reflect and think."
May 12, 2008 7 by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk The events, including TV programmes, public debates and other activities, will culminate on IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia, on May 17th. Ms Castro, 45, has said previously that she wants to "enrich the Cuban Revolution" with her fight for equality between the sexes and gay rights. She has been a strong supporter of legal moves to grant equal rights to all citizens, the first step towards same-sex unions and access to gender reassignment surgery. Legislation is before the Cuban parliament. Sexual diversity was seen by Fidel Castro as a corrupt consequence of capitalism. Homosexual sex was partially decriminalised in Cuba in 1979 and an equal age of consent was introduced in 1992. While social attitudes towards gay people are generally negative, the capital city Havana has a thriving gay scene. All gay rights organisations are banned. Under Fidel Castro, who ruled from 1959 until February of this year, many gay men suffered in Cuban labour camps as the regime 're-educated' homosexuals. Gays were incarcerated in Military Units to Aid Production (UMAPs) between 1965 and 1968. Castro believed that hard work would rid the men of their "counter-revolutionary tendencies." The proposed change to Cuban family law would put members of same-sex unions on a par with heterosexuals. In January the Cuban culture minister Abel Preito gave public support to gay marriage. "I think that marriage between lesbians, between homosexuals can be perfectly approved and that in Cuba that wouldn't cause an earthquake or anything like that," said Mr Prieto, who is also a member of the powerful Politburo of the Communist party and the Council of State, the nation's supreme governing body.
May 19, 2008 8 by Tony Grew The director of Cuba's Centre for Sexual Education, she has been a champion for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people in the Communist state. Despite the rhetoric, gays in Cuba face serious discrimination, and the meeting was dominated by discussions of how to change society's attitudes. "We should do that in a coherent, appropriate and precise way because these are topics that have been taboo and continue to be for many," a leading parliamentarian told the meeting. Gay activists also cautioned a subtle approach. Cuban state television did its part, screening the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain. The Oscar-nominated tale of two American cowboys who fall in love, it has touched straight audiences across the world. Other TV programmes, public debates and activities marked IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia, on Saturday. Ms Castro, 45, has said previously that she wants to "enrich the Cuban Revolution" with her fight for equality between the sexes and gay rights. She has been a strong supporter of legal moves to grant equal rights to all citizens, the first step towards same-sex unions and access to gender reassignment surgery. Legislation is before the Cuban parliament. Sexual diversity was seen by Fidel Castro as a corrupt consequence of capitalism. Homosexual sex was partially decriminalised in Cuba in 1979 and an equal age of consent was introduced in 1992. While social attitudes towards gay people are generally negative, the capital city Havana has a thriving gay scene. All gay rights organisations are banned. Under Fidel Castro, who ruled from 1959 until February of this year, many gay men suffered in Cuban labour camps as the regime 're-educated' homosexuals. Gays were incarcerated in Military Units to Aid Production (UMAPs) between 1965 and 1968. Castro believed that hard work would rid the men of their "counter-revolutionary tendencies." The proposed change to Cuban family law would put members of same-sex unions on a par with heterosexuals.
May, 2008 9 by Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Mariela Castro joined government leaders and hundreds of activists at the one-day conference for the International Day Against Homophobia that featured shows, lectures, panel discussions and book presentations. A station also offered blood-tests for sexually transmitted diseases. Cuban state television gave prime-time play Friday to the U.S. film "Brokeback Mountain," which tells the story of two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair. Prejudice against homosexuals remains deeply rooted in Cuban society, but the government has steadily moved away from the Puritanism of the 1960s and 1970s, when homosexuals hid their sexuality for fear of being ridiculed, fired from work or even imprisoned. Now Cuba's parliament is studying proposals to legalize same-sex unions and give gay couples the benefits that people in traditional marriages enjoy. Parliament head Ricardo Alarcon said the government needs to do more to promote gay rights, but said many Cubans still need to be convinced. Things "are advancing, but must continue advancing, and I think we should do that in a coherent, appropriate and precise way because these are topics that have been taboo and continue to be for many," Alarcon told reporters. Some at the conference spoke of streaming out into the streets for a spontaneous gay-pride parade, but others urged caution. The gay rights movement should be careful not to "flood" Cuban society with a message that many are not ready to hear, physician and gay activist Alberto Roque cautioned. And Mariela Castro said gay activists should opt for more subtle ways to chip away at deep-seated homophobic attitudes. Defending equal rights for Cubans, of all sexual orientations, is a key principal of the Cuban revolution led by her uncle Fidel Castro, who overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, she said. "The freedom of sexual choice and gender identity (are) exercises in equality and social justice," she said. |
