According to an interview
given by the Cuban President’s daughter they are about to consider full
equality for LGBT Cubans.
Astounding isn’t it? That the repressive totalitarian
regime of the land of my birth would actually surpass the United States in the
area of human rights.
Cuba has long been
criticized for their pervasive violations of human rights and even condemned on
occasions for their treatment and incarceration of dissidents. In the few years
following the ascent of the Castro brothers to power one of the most persecuted
and abused segment of the population was the gay community. There wasn’t a
country more homophobic on the face of the earth in those days.
At the advent of the HIV
epidemic, the Cuban government went as far as placing individuals infected with
the HIV virus in concentration camps were living conditions were dismal at best
and the treatment even worse. They were incarcerated and quarantined indefinitely
or until they died. That is something of blight on the Cuban government and it
continues to be a factor with dissidents…they are still being persecuted..
Enter Mariela Castro,
daughter of the President who is presumed to be a lesbian and who is an ardent
supporter of equal rights for LGBT Cubans and evidently she has been able to
convince her father and uncle that it is a good idea to grant full citizenship
rights to all Cubans regardless of sexual preference.
I think that Cuba has
relaxed their persecution of gays albeit their oppression of dissidents remains
at an all time high. Pride parades are now taking place and gathering places
for gay people are not being busted as they once were. Homophobia in Cuba was
ever present as it goes hand in hand with the machismo culture; but in the
absence of the fucking Evangelicals there isn’t a backlash of hatred and
ignorance to justify continued discrimination of gays.
And a reform of the family code, which
would include recognition of the rights of same-sex couples and the family’s
responsibility and duty to accept and care for all of its members, regardless
of their gender identity or sexual orientation, is to be introduced in
parliament.Mariela Castro said things are “finally moving,” now that the Communist Party has specifically expressed the intention to involve the media in the effort against homophobia, and because of the possible inclusion of the issue in the party’s next national conference, to be held on January 28, 2012.”
SOURCES: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/mariela-castro-cuba-same-sex-civil-unions_n_1211296.html
We live in a very strange world Raulito. I can see where this is coming from though. His daughter really is the key to this. She has been an advocate for GLBTQ for as long as I can remember.
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