Ladies in White movement was founded in 2003 as the response to the regime’s raid against the Cuban dissidents: journalists, writers, intellectuals and human rights activists. Ladies in White are wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and cousins of 75 prisoners of conscience jailed on March 18, 19, and 20 of 2003 for the only crime of trying the exercise their right of freedom of expression. For more than 8 years the women have strived for the immediate and unconditional release of their relatives. They have been their voices.

On March 30, 2003 their attended mass together for the first time at Santa Rita de Casia Church and walked on 5th Avenida in Miramar, and since then, they have considered that date as the date of the inception of their movement.

In proclamation document they wrote: “The majority of us, workers, college graduates, technicians or housewives, would have never imagined ourselves in situations and attitudes such as those that we have had to face. Few of us had ever been involved in projects as independent journalists and librarians or human rights activists.(…) We joined without any political motivation or religious affiliation. In March 2003, immediately after the excessive searches, with closed streets, cars and policemen in uniform and plain clothes everywhere, we, the wives started to denounce the terrible and miserable confinement conditions of those that were forced to undergo intense and continuous interrogatories at the Cuartel General de la Seguridad del Estado (Political Police headquarters). Next, they faced swift trials without the due judicial guarantees, with sentences of up to 28 years in prison.  Our numbers continued to grow. The wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts of the 75 prisoners met mostly in the Security Police headquarters or in the jails.  The prisoners of conscience, residents from all areas in the country, were sent to prisons in opposite sides of our territory, which has caused our families to be penalized and submitted to psychological tortures that affect, and are particularly cruel, for our children and elderly. This gave us the opportunity, during the displacements, to meet each other and the population in general, and it served to raise awareness of the injustices that were perpetrated against the 75.”

On December 14, 2005, Ladies in White received the Sajarov Award to Freedom of Conscience from the European Parliament, but the Cuban Government did not authorize the 5 delegates to travel to the award ceremony in Strasburg. They also received the Human Rights Award for 2004 from the Fundación Hispano Cubana based in Madrid, and the Human Rights Award from the NGO Human Rights First.

At the turn of 2010 and 2011 75 prisoners of conscience were released from prison upon the agreement negotiated with the regime by the Catholic church’s authorities in Cuba. Unfortunately, the imprisoned oppositionists were freed on the condition to leave the country.