Know your feminist history – On 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. A brief thread on the history of 16 Days of Activism.
On November 25, 1960 three of the four Mirabal sisters – Minerva, Patricia Mercedes and Antonia Maria Teresa and their driver, Rufino de la Cruz – were beaten and thrown off a cliff by people acting on behalf of then President, Rafael Trujillo.
Trujillo treated the country & its women as his personal possessions. He sent special envoys all over the country to fetch women. The Mirabal sisters who were renowned for their beauty were called Las Mariposas (The Butterflies). Trujillo pursued Minerva Mirabal who rebuffed him.
In response to the rejection, Trujillo prevented Minerva from practicing as a lawyer. The Mirabal sisters were part of resistance against the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. They were imprisoned and tortured repeatedly until their murder in 1960.
In 1981, in honour of the Mirabal sisters and to fight against violence against women, a Latin American Feminist Encounter held in Bogota, Colombia, adopted November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Feminists and women’s movements all over the world adopted the day. Feminists and women’s movements all over the world adopted the day. Following years of lobbying, the UN adopted the day in 1999.
This led to a campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender -based Violence, starting of November 25 (the anniversary of the death of the Mirabal sisters) and ending on December 10, the International Human Rights Day.
"In memory of them...today (November 25) is international Women's Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In other words, for the elimination of violence by the Trujillos that rule in so many homes." Eduardo Galeano, Children of Day 2013.
