Origin of the International Campaign for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls
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Marchers carry photos of the Mirabal sisters in 2019 March of Butterflies. |
The date was chosen to honour the memory of Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa Mirabal, three young sisters in the Dominican Republic who were assassinated on November 25, 1960. The three sisters were active militants and organizers against the bloody dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. He had been brought to power with the help of the United States in 1930 and was well known for the persecution and assassination of persons or collectives opposed to his governance. He was also renowned for having ordered the execution of tens of thousands of Haitians working in the Dominican Republic in 1937. The Mirabal sisters and their husbands mobilized and organized to try to overthrow the dictatorship. On November 25, 1960, following their release from prison and as they travelled to visit their spouses, who were also jailed, their car was intercepted and they and their driver were beaten to death. The bodies were put back into the car, which was then pushed into a ravine to make it look like a road accident.
1960 photo of the Mirabal sisters.
November 25 is a date that exemplifies state violence against women fighting for their rights. In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly, in its Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, defined violence towards women in the following manner:
"For the purposes of this Declaration, the term 'violence against women' means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
Article 2 of the Declaration notes that violence against women may occur in the family, within the general community (workplace, educational institutions, etc.) or be perpetrated by the state.
For the past 10 years, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women has been followed by a 16-day action campaign that ends on December 10, International Human Rights Day. In Quebec, the campaign lasts 12 days and ends on December 6, to honour the memory of the 14 young students at École Polytechnique in Montreal who were murdered because they were women. Since 1991, Canada-wide, December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This year marks the 30th anniversary of this tragedy and on this occasion, women and their organizations are summing up the advances they have made.
In Quebec, the 12 days were marked by over 50
actions organized
from Gatineau to Mont-Joli. Through films, discussions, theatre
plays, open mics, marches and vigils, women are tackling the
forms of abuse they suffer: jailed migrants, violence against
women with a handicap, violence at the workplace or at home,
racism and poverty, the colonialist violence of the Canadian state
towards Indigenous peoples, etc. They are taking up their social
responsibility by denouncing the indignities suffered and are
declaring that a government fit to govern must take concrete
measures to permanently end that violence.
(Photos: Listin Diario, Notas Argentina)
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 31 - December 14, 2019
Article Link:
Origin of the International Campaign for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca