15 May ‘Homophobia, no! Socialism, yes!’ chant hundreds of Cubans in pro-gay march
Fidel Castro’s niece led hundreds of Cubans over the weekend in a march to promote gay rights in the island.
Married mother of three Mariela Castro, daughter to current Cuban leader Raul Castro, led hundreds of marchers through the Cuban capital of Havana shouting ‘Homophobia, no! Socialism, yes!’ in a state-sponsored march against homophobia.
Mariela Castro recently concluded a global tour where she received an award for her LGBT advocacy work in Cuba.
In 2005 Castro, Director of Cuban National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), pushed for a law that obliged the Cuban government to cover the costs of surgeries, hormones and therapy for any adult wishing to undergo a sex change.
Castro also launched safe-sex campaigns that include condom distribution and safe-sex literature in the Caribbean island that already has one of the lowest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Americas.
Al Jazeera reports that Castro said she was optimistic the communist country would eventually legalize same-sex marriage.
Castro said: ‘What is most complicated is the time it takes to overcome prejudices. We must change consciousness.’