January 1st 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the collapse of the Batista regime in Cuba following rebel activity by forces which included Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. The lives of many women in pre-revolutionary Cuba were grim, and a number actively supported Castro’s revolutionary opposition. To discuss their role and to find out how women in Cuba have fared since, Jane is joined by journalist and author Kent Barker who has written a novel, Revolution! Cuba '58, about this time in Cuban history, and by Elizabeth Dore, Professor of Latin American studies at Southampton University who directed a five year research project called ‘Memories of the Cuban Revolution’.
