"(...) when men and women fight in a country, that country becomes invincible."
Quotes
“…work, organize and put into action the spirit of creation, the enthusiasm of Cuban women, so that Cuban women, in this stage of the revolutions, will see to the disappearance of the last shred of discrimination; and so that Cuban women, because of their virtues and merits, will take the place corresponding them in the country’s history.”
“Revolution has awoken the moral feeling of the people; Revolution has awoken human solidarity in men and women of our people; Revolution has abolished selfishness and has made of generosity the main virtue of every citizen; Revolution has gathered the best of the nation; Revolution purified and cleaned up; Revolution has redeemed”.
“The peoples think that the only thing incompatible with the destiny of Latin America is misery, feudal exploitation, illiteracy, starvation wages, unemployment, the policy of repression against the masses of workers, peasants and students, discrimination against women, blacks, indigenous people and mestizos, the oppression of the oligarchies, the plundering of their wealth by the US monopolies, the moral suffocation of their intellectuals and artists, the ruin of their small producers by foreign competition, the economic underdevelopment, the peoples without roads, without hospitals, without housing, without schools, without industries, the submission to imperialism, the renunciation of national sovereignty and the betrayal of the homeland”.
“Along with the Revolution, one of the most unjust forms of discrimination that has existed has been disappearing: discrimination against women, of the kind that was not talked about but which lay there, continued to exist and weighed heavily upon the women of our country.”
Speech given at the closing ceremony for the Third National Plenary Meeting of the Federation of Cuban Women on the Isle of Pines. February 19, 1965
“Along with the Revolution, one of the most unjust forms of discrimination that has existed has been disappearing: discrimination against women, of the kind that was not talked about but which lay there, continued to exist and weighed heavily upon the women of our country.”
“To create bureaucracy is to blow human resources sky high, is to turn a man or a woman into a useless and parasite citizen; is to ditch human energy and intelligence, which should be destined for useful things for the society, useful things for the human beings.”
“[…]I am absolutely convinced that society will benefit in the same proportion that it is able to develop and use the human, moral and intellectual qualities of women. I am absolutely convinced of this. And it is impressive to notice the differences between a just society, a socialist society, and a capitalist society in this regard.”
"Can the empire and the system responsible for all this really talk to the world about human rights? Human rights within a system where a large part of the population is unemployed, where women are prostituted, where children are abandoned? The numbers of abandoned children in Latin America are impressive, they number millions, many millions. How can this system offer hope to mankind? How can this system speak of consideration for mankind?
That’s why we have so much faith in socialism, and we have so much confidence in socialism and such deep socialist convictions".
"(...) today tourism is a crucial need for our economy, but not gambling and casino tourism, or sex tourism. Such things are not acceptable to us and we are not willing to tolerate them because all the gold in the world is not worth more than a woman’s dignity and, even more so, a teenage girl's dignity. Selling minors to foreigners for sex or the removal of their organs is severely punished. The grotesque and repulsive raping of boys and girls with aggravating circumstances is inadmissible".
"The duty of this new generation of revolutionary men and women is becoming an example of modest leaders, studious and tireless fighters for socialism. In the barbaric era of consumer societies, to overcome the capitalist production system that fosters and promotes selfish interests among human beings is, no doubt, a difficult challenge".