Cuba

The Republic of Cuba has the lowest fertility and highest rate of contraceptive use in Latin America. Social programs provide universal health care and access to daycare. Divorce rates are among the world's highest and consensual unions are common. Women have primary responsibility for childcare and housework despite high labor force participation. Spanish colonialism and Catholicism influence traditional gender roles. Educational attainment is high. Social reforms guarantee women's right to education, work, paid maternity leave, childcare, and abortion, and marriage is an equitable partnership under the Family Code.

Cuba's rate of 1.4 children per mother is comparable to many advanced nations. Low fertility is attributable to high rates of labor force participation and educational attainment, free access to birth control, and legalized abortion. The government provides 18 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Under the Family Code, poor mothers are guaranteed adequate food and access to daycare and family doctors. One of the world's highest divorce rates, early pregnancy, and consensual unions—which the most common type of partner relationship—contribute to a high number of female-headed households. Fewer than 60 percent of Cuban couples marry. Families are defined by blood relations and extended families are typical.

Spanish colonization and the Catholic Church influenced the ideology of marianismo (exalted selfless motherhood) in pre-revolutionary Cuba. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, women were expected to join the work force. Marriage is an equitable partnership under the Family Code established in 1975, but traditional gender roles persist in respect to responsibility for childcare and the division of labor. The Family Code regulates all aspects of family life, including child support and child custody. Men are legally responsible for their children born in or outside of marriage, but many Cuban fathers do not support or raise their children.

Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion, but many West African religious traditions brought by slaves, such as Santeria, are practiced. Many Cubans, especially the poor, superimpose Catholic practices over West African religious traditions, such as reverence of the Virgin Mary. In recent years, more middle-class Cubans have embraced traditional practices.

Unlike elsewhere in Latin America, the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion and contraception has not influenced public family planning policies or [Page 260]practices. Cuban women have a legal right to obtain birth control and abortion. Widespread availability of contraceptives contributes to the highest rate of modern contraceptive use in Latin America and the Caribbean, at 72 percent. Under the universal health care system, all women have access to prenatal care and skilled birth attendants.

Girls are expected to complete 16 years of formal schooling; 88 percent of girls are enrolled in secondary education. Women comprise 61 percent of university enrollment. The creation of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) in 1960 and associated social reforms established women's rights to education, paid work and maternity leave, childcare, and abortion.

Vilma Espin played a prominent role in the Cuban Revolution and was the longtime head of the FMC. Ms. Espin, who was the wife of acting president Raul Castro with whom she had four children, was often described as Cuba's First Lady.

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