The Sisters Who Inspired International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Blog /Last Updated: November 25, 2024

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This blog was written by Chris Sagona, one of LWV's representatives to the United Nations

Trigger warning: this blog contains mentions of violence against women, sexual assault, and femicide.

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we invite you to learn about why the United Nations created this day and to put that knowledge to use. We invite you and your local League to share on social media what you learn today, and to continue to learn more with materials that we'll share with you at the end of this blog.

The Mirabal Sisters and the Origin of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

The designation of this particular day as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is a result of the November 25, 1960 assassinations of the Mirabal sisters, siblings and activists from the Dominican Republic. The Mirabal sisters were Minerva, María Teresa, and Patria (they also had a fourth sister, Dedé). Born into a farming family in the Dominican middle class, the sisters lived under the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.

Under the code name "Mariposa" (Butterfly), the sisters became leaders in the anti-Trujullo resistance movement. Alongside their husbands, they effectively organized against the dictator - and were then targeted by government mass arrests. On a trip to visit their husbands in prison, the sisters were assassinated by the Trujillo government.

Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal

But the resistance did not die with them. In fact, it grew. Surviving sister Dedé strove to document and get the word out about what happened, and the sisters became national and international icons. Outraged by their murders, the international community solidified in its resistance to the Trujillo regime. Both the sisters' lives and their resistance methods became a clarion call to others to reject human rights violations, corruption, and dictatorships. In this way, the Mirabal sisters were instrumental in toppling a dictatorship.

Today, the sisters are international symbols of resistance and the rights of women and girls. Their story highlights the need to reject and end violence against women. It also highlights that violence against women is a political issue as well as a personal one.

Violence against women is a political issue as well as a personal one.

In honor of the Mirabal sisters, and in an effort to raise awareness of and end violence against women, in 1999, the UN General Assembly designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As well as a museum and other landmarks in the Dominican Republic, the corner of 168th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan has been designated Mirabal Sisters Way. There are monuments worldwide honoring the sisters' resistance against dictatorship. The sisters were also the inspiration for Julia Alvarez's book In the Time of the Butterflies, which was made into a film starring Salma Hayek in 2001.

Violence Against Women Today

Today, violence against women is still one of the most prevalent human rights violations worldwide. An estimated 736 million women "have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in her lifetime." That's nearly one in three women - and this figure does not include sexual harassment. Furthermore, it's estimated that every 10 minutes, a woman is killed by a partner or family member.

We see this problem not just on a global scale, but within the United States. Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that nearly halfof women experience sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner. One out of every five women in the United States has experienced attempted or completed rape. While women are not the only people impacted by these forms of violence, they are affected at disproportionately high rates.

As League members, we know that women cannot live their fullest lives, let alone participate equally in society, when living under the threat of violence. As the Mirabal sisters demonstrated, women's safety and political involvement are directly intertwined.

To increase public awareness of this issue and inspire action, the UN is hosting's 16 Days of ActionAgainst Gender-Based Violence.

The 16 Days of Action, which begins November 25 and culminates on December 10 (International Human Rights Day), aims to help legislators, advocates, diplomats, and the public make the connection between violence against women and human rights violations. It's a time to "revitalize commitments [and] call for accountability and action from decision-makers."

What can you do?

• Participate in the UN's 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence;
• Help establish legal protections on the basis of sex in the US by demanding that the president pass the Equal Rights Amendment;
• Buy En el tiempo de las mariposas/In the Time of the Butterflies, which recounts the Mirabal sisters' lives and their methods against dictatorship, in English or Spanish;
• Learn the violence against women/girls facts and stats accrued by UN Women; and
• Invite your League to participate in the UN's social media efforts between November 25 and December 10.

Together, we can create a safer world for women and girls.

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