I knew that November 25th was designated as the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls but until recently I didn’t know why that particular day had been chosen. The reason is both inspirational and a reminder of the fight to protect women against violence.
Between 1930 and 1961 General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, also known as el Jefe, ruled the Dominican Republic. He did not tolerate any opposition to his official opinions or decisions and became known as a notorious dictator who ran an oppressive and brutal regime, repressing all dissent.
Many people opposed his dictatorship and in particular one family became famous for their actions. The Mirabal family had a farm in the village of Ojo de Agua but when Trujillo came to power, the family lost almost their entire fortune. It was customary to have a picture of Trujillo in the household, however, the Mirabal house never had a picture of him and were subsequently considered dissidents by the Trujillo regime.
Image: Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal.
The family had four daughters, Patria, Minerva, María Teresa and Adela, all who led exceptional lives. The sisters, especially Minerva, believed that the dictatorship was ruining the country and with her husband created the 14th June Revolutionary Movement. Maria Teresa also joined the movement and although Patricia did not, she lent her house to store weapons and tools from the insurgents and once said ‘’ “We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime. We have to fight against it, and I am willing to give up everything, even my life if necessary.” Within the movement, the sisters were known as Las Mariposas (The Butterflies).
The family suffered many injustices and were targeted by the regime, including Minerva being stripped of her license to practice law after her rejection of Trujillio’s sexual advances. She was arrested and harassed on multiple occasions on orders given by Trujillo himself. She was first jailed in January 1960, at the start of the wave of repression of 1J4 members where “hundreds of 1J4 members are rounded up and tortured”. She stated, “It is a source of happiness to do whatever can be done for our country that suffers so many anguishes. It is sad to stay with one’s arms crossed.”
María Teresa, the youngest sister, admired Minerva’s political views and was also involved in activities against Trujillo’s regime. As a result, she was also harassed and arrested on the direct orders of Trujillo. She once said, “Perhaps what we have most near is death, but that idea does not frighten me. We shall continue to fight for that which is just.”
On 25th November 1960 Minerva and Maria Teresa were visiting their husbands in jail. Patricia went with them for moral support. Whilst returning home they were stopped by Trujillo’s henchmen and, along with their driver Rufino de la Cruz, were brutally murdered.
The assassinations turned the Mirabal sisters into symbols of both popular and feminist resistance. In 1999, in their honour, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
After the murder of her sisters, Adela took care of and raised her sisters 6 children. Between 1992 and 1994, she started the Mirabal Sisters Foundation and the Mirabal Sisters Museum to continue her sisters’ legacy. Adela died at the age of 88, and professed her entire life that it was her destiny to survive so that she was able to “tell their story”.