The Ladies in White, an anti-occupation movement, was founded in Cuba. The movement has received international attention due to their successful accomplishment with their non-violent strategies. They were started after the communist revolution took power in Cuba. Its humble beginnings started by gathering all the wives of dissidents that were arrested on the Cuba’s Black Spring. Their goals were to peacefully protest in front of the prisons where the dissidents were being held. As the movement grew, more and more relatives of the dissidents joined the movement. They grew to the extent that the movement were capable of protesting simultaneously in many big cities of Cuba. It is important to note that Cuba had fully transitioned to a full communist government. Meaning, that the right of free speech was completely banned. Impeding any person or group to bad mouth the regime.
Despite the strong oppression on freedom of speech, they were able to gain the attention of other countries. They would sometimes find themselves getting arrested because someone in their movement had started violent actions. Some reports argue that the Ladies in White were peaceful and that violent actions were started by people that worked for the regime. The regime would hire people that would infiltrate in the protests and create a chaos to blame the Ladies in White of wanting to fight the government with violence. Such allegations caused minor effect on the movement. They continue to peacefully protest every Sunday in different churches around the country. After the unfair arrests of many Ladies in White, the international world was involved. They pressured Cuba to sign a Treaty that would allow the Ladies in White to protest freely without getting arrested. This treaty was the first paper to draft the protection of the Ladies in White. Even though, the government had always allowed them to protest, there was not something in paper. Moreover, it made the regime treat the protesters more carefully because they were being watched by the eyes of the international media. These accomplishments were important to the Ladies in White because of two reasons; First, they had the support of the international world. Second, they were in better standing to protest than any group in the country. Presently, all the dissidents have been released. Nonetheless, the Ladies in White have appreciated the attention they have received and have redirected their focus and goals.
Reflection of the movement
At first, the goals of the Ladies in White was to have their husbands have a fair trial and to improve the conditions of the prison cells in which the dissidents here being held. Since, many of them were dying of diseases and infections. With the years, the dissidents were given trials and released from prison. Presently all dissidents have been released. Making the Movement shift to wider goal. The movement has publicly expressed, that it is unfair for government to eliminate the freedom of speech to their citizens and only allow the movement to protest. Their new goal is to have the government allow everyone that lives in Cuba to express themselves freely without getting arrested. They are grateful that the government never abolish their existence, but they believed that their citizens have the same rights as they do. Many Cuban scholars have offered their opinion and have said the future of the movement is uncertain just as the day they were founded. Nobody knew they were one to be allowed to protest for so many decades. Now, with a new goal, nobody knows if they would be successful in moving Cuba to the side of the spectrum where people voices are heard. Many changes are going to take place with the death of Fidel Castro and the movement are taking advantage of the opportunity. After the death of Fidel Castro they have gathered in different countries around the world promoting their new goal. They want a Cuba that people can speak freely in support or against their government without fear of repercussion.