Cuba supports gender equality initiatives in the country

Ines Maria Chapman Waugh, Cuban Deputy Prime Minister, recognized the important role played by the work with masculinities on the road to gender equality.

As part of the review of the National Program for the Advancement of Women (PAM by its Spanish acronym), the deputy prime minister referred to the need to link the different social sectors to initiatives that promote inclusion, non-violence and unity in Cuban society.

From the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Chapman Waugh urged to carry out a strong communicational work through the media and social networks to spread the work of the entities that work in this sense.

Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and head of the Ideological Department, stressed that initiatives of this kind generate awareness and contribute to the development of Cuban society.

Inalvis Rodriguez Reyes, Gender official of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), highlighted the influence of the project "Masculinidades cómplices de la igualdad de género y la no violencia contra las mujeres en Cuba"(Masculinities complicit in gender equality and non-violence against women in Cuba) in the deployment of educational actions to raise awareness and change behaviors in favor of positive attitudes.

Rodriguez Reyes pointed out that the initiative was the result of an alliance between UNDP and the Articulated Platform for Integral Territorial Development.

The meeting addressed other issues such as the linkage of women to armed institutions, where Katiuska Diaz Rodriguez, second chief of the Directorate of Cadres of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), emphasized the capacity of women to carry out any work.

Teresa Amarelle Boue, member of the Political Bureau and secretary general of the Cuban Women's Federation, stressed the fight against gender violence as a major objective and urged to strengthen communication efforts to make initiatives in this field more extensive.