Cuban Women Times Crisis Posted Course Materials.

¶ … Cuban Women Times Crisis" posted "Course Materials." This summary exceed pages include: 1. What special period Cuba? When special period start? Why happen? 2.

What is the special period in Cuba? When did the special period start? Why did it happen?

The "Special Period in Peacetime" is the era between 1989 and 1993 in which the Cuban economy suffered a collapse (Bengelsdorf 229). It was spawned by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing lack of support given to Cuba by the Soviet Bloc. It was aggravated by the continued economic sanctions against Cuba perpetrated by the United States. It's characterized by "extreme scarcity…insufficient rations…energy shortages…transportation cuts…and the shutdown of whole industries" (229).

How did the special period affect women?

Women were adversely affected by the harsh downtown of the period, given that the period called for more reliance on the individual and the family, as the government was not able to provide for its people. Along with the aforementioned economic problems, additional stress rose from the woman's role in the home, as they were overwhelmingly responsible for childcare and household work. The article details that "the time-consuming jobs of standing on lines to get…rations and of hunting down necessary supplementary food" became the responsibility of families, and by extension, women (232).

In addition, though this point is often argued, The Special Period also represented an increase of women in the labor force, at least in a "reserve" capacity (235). Women were also elected to more government positions during this time (238).

3. What does the Family Code of 1975 stipulate? Is it the Family Code a guarantee for women's liberation?

The Family Code of 1975 identifies the nuclear family as the "singular base cell of society" and stipulates the responsibilities these families have for one another (230). This included "provisions…concerning joint responsibilities of husband and wife for household maintenance and childcare" (231). The article goes on to assert that simply because these were guidelines laid out in the code, the majority of household work still fell on women and did not guarantee women's liberation (231).

4. What type of families is the article referring to?