How Mirabal Sisters' Assassination Led To Elimination of Violence Against Women Day

In December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The day marked the death anniversary of the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic. The activist sisters opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo and their assassinations turned them into symbols of female resistance.

The UN General Assembly dedicated the anniversary of their deaths as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in honour of the three sisters.

November 25 also marked the beginning of the 16 days of remembrance and activism, which culminates in International Human Rights Day.

The premise of the day is to raise awareness regarding the violence and crimes that women have to face, such as rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and murder.

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The Assassination The Mirabal Sisters

The Mirabal sisters were four sisters from the Dominican Republic, three of whom, Patria, Minerva, and Maria opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.

The three activists sisters were involved in clandestine activities against Trujillo’s regime. On November 25, 1960, the three sisters were assassinated, which turned them into symbols of female resistance.

The three sisters, Patria, Minerva, and Maria and their driver Rufino de la Cruz were strangled and clubbed to death by Trujillo’s henchmen. Their bodies were gathered and placed in their Jeep, which was run off the mountain road in an attempt to make their deaths appear accidental.

According to historian Bernard Diederich, the assassination of the sisters paved the way for Trujillio’s assassination six months later. Diedrerich said the assassinations had “greater effect on Dominicans than most of Trujillo’s other crimes”.

Their surviving sister, Dede took care of her late sisters’ children and started the Mirabal Sisters Foundation and the Mirabal Sisters museum to continue their legacy.

In 1981, the women attending the Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Ecuentros marked November 25 as a day to raise awareness of violence against women.

On December 19, 1999, a United Nations resolution established the day as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.