Mariela Castro Espín is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education

Cuban National Center for Sex Education

The National Center for Sex Education is a government-funded body in Cuba. The center is best known for advocating tolerance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender issues on the island...

 in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 and an activist for LGBT rights in Cuba

LGBT rights in Cuba

Private, non-commercial sexual relations between same-sex consenting adult 16 and over have been legal in Cuba since 1979, although same-sex relationships are not presently recognized by the state as a possible marriage. Despite elements of homophobia in Cuba's history, Havana now has a lively and...

.

She is the daughter of current Cuban president Raúl Castro

Raúl Castro

Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...

 and Vilma Espín, and the niece of former president Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

. She has a brother, Alejandro Castro Espín

Alejandro Castro Espín

Alejandro Castro Espín is a Cuban political and military figure. He has the rank of colonel in the Interior Ministry of Cuba...

.

Her group campaigns for effective AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 prevention as well as recognition and acceptance of homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

, bisexuality

Bisexuality

Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...

, transvestism

Transvestism

Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing clothing traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations. -History:Although the word transvestism was coined as late as the 1910s,...

, and transsexualism

Transsexualism

Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...

 human rights. In 2005 she proposed a project to allow transgendered people to receive sex reassignment surgery

Sex reassignment surgery

Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...

 and change their legal gender. The measure became law in June 2008 which allows sex change surgery for Cubans without charge.

Mariela Castro is president of the Cuban Multidisciplinary Centre for the Study of Sexuality, president of the National Commission for Treatment of Disturbances of Gender Identity, member of the Direct Action Group for Preventing, Confronting, and Combatting AIDS, and an executive member of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS). She is also the director of the journal Sexología y Sociedad

Sexología y Sociedad

Sexología y Sociedad is a medical journal published in Cuba. The journal was first published in 1994, and is currently published by the Cuban National Center for Sex Education. The journal is published in both English and Spanish languages. The editor is Mariela Castro.-External links:* *...

, a magazine of Sexology edited by her own National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX).

She has published 13 scholarly articles and nine books.

Mariela is now married to Italian photographer Paolo Titolo and has two children with him, plus a daughter from her previous marriage with the Chilean former FPMR member Juan Gutiérrez Fischmann.

External links

• Mariela Castro’s Hopes for Cuba By Dalia Acosta, Havana Times June 24, 2009
• Cuban Parliament considers legal recognition of the rights of transsexuals, La Jornada
  La Jornada
  La Jornada is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor is Carmen Lira Saade...
  
   (January 9, 2006).
• The Reyes Report: Free Sex Change Operations in Cuba, June 19, 2008.
• Cuban soap's gay story starts dialogue, Chicago Sun-Times
  Chicago Sun-Times
  The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
  
  (June 18, 2006).
• Interview with Mariela Castro from MEDICC Review 2006
• http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89&Itemid=1