Federation of Cuban Women

The Federation of Cuban Women () (FMC) was established in 1948 by a group of activists including Mirta Aguirre, María Argüelles, Edith García Buchaca, Ana M. Hidalgo, Celia Machado, Candelaria Rodríguez, Caridad Sánchez, Cipriana Vidaurreta, and María Josefa Vidaurreta as the (Democratic Federation of Cuban Women). García was the first president of the organization, which immediately became affiliated with the Women's International Democratic Federation. In 1960, it was reorganized as the under the revolutionary government, with Vilma Espín as its president. Espin fought in the Sierra Maestras with Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro and married Raúl in 1959. She was the president of the FMC until her death in 2007. The FMC was deeply involved in the 1961 Cuban literacy campaign and in supplying workers after the mass exodus of trained labor following the Revolution. It also plays an integral role in Cuban disaster risk reduction, undertaking an annual vulnerability mapping exercise. The information gathered is used in emergency planning and evacuations during hurricane alerts A few of the stated goals of the FMC are:

* Bringing women out of the home and into the economy * Reorganizing peasant households that keep women in subservient positions * Developing communal services to alleviate domestic work and childcare * Providing equal opportunities for women * Mobilizing women into political work and government administration * Providing adequate working conditions "to satisfy the particular needs of the female organism and the moral and spiritual needs of women as mothers." Provided by Wikipedia