Since the assassination of the Mirabal sisters, women demanding equality, justice, freedom, and peace have been targeted by governments. Fewza Henifi, a member of Sara Organization, a women’s organization combating violence against women, has announced that they, as the organization, have held events against violence.

DILUCAN BOZÎ

Kobanî - November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Women around the world have observed 25 November as a day against gender-based violence since 1999. This date was selected to honor the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960.

The Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa, struggled against the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo between 1930 and 1960. Their struggle spread across the Dominican Republic in 1960. On 25 November 1960, they were stopped by Trujillo's henchmen on their way home. The sisters and their driver, Rufino de la Cruz, were separated, strangled, and clubbed to death. Their bodies were then gathered and put in their Jeep, which was run off the mountain road in an attempt to make their deaths look like an accident.

El Caribe, a newspaper supported by the government of Rafael Trujillo, described their deaths as an automobile accident. However, their attempt to show the assassination of the Mirabal sisters as an accident was failed. The Clandestine Movement, founded by the sisters, played an important role in the overthrow of the dictatorship a year after their assassination. In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to honor the sisters.

Pioneering women are on target

Pioneering women have been targeted since 1960. Men killing women have gone unpunished and the policy of immunity encourages men to kill women. In recent years, thousands of pioneering women such as Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan, Leyla Şaylemez, Hevrin Khalaf, Hebûn Mele Xelîl, Zehra Berkel, Amara Rênas, Barîn Kobanê, Avesta Xabûr and Emîne Mihemed Weysî have been murdered.

Fewza Henifi, a member of Sara Organization, a women’s organization combating violence against women, has announced that they, as the organization, have held events to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. “We have hung the pictures of women, who are subjected to violence, on the walls in the streets. We will hold seminars and workshops in communes, councils, streets, villages, towns, districts, and cities. How can women protect themselves and end violence against them? We will focus on this question. Child marriage is major violence against girls and women. Therefore, we will focus on not only violence against women but also child marriages. We will fight polygamy and discuss how we can end them,” Fewza Henifi told NuJINHA.

“Violence increases during the pandemic”

 “The attacks of the Turkish state are also violence and crimes,” Fewza Henifi said, “We have recently observed an increase in violence against women living in villages. For this reason, we will focus on women living in villages. Conflicts and attacks can result in higher levels of gender-based violence against women and girls. We will hold seminars and education courses to raise awareness of the public.”

Drawing attention to the increasing violence during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fewza Henifi also talked about the psychological effects of violence. “Domestic violence has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Children are affected when their parents fight.”

Women demanding peace are on target

Emphasizing that nation-states target pioneering women struggling for their society, Fewza Henifi said, “In our region, many women have been targeted by the enemy. On June 23, 2020, three pioneering women were targeted and killed by drone strikes. Women should struggle against all forms of violence. Women become the target of violence, torture, and attacks everywhere. Women are targeted by states when they demand justice, equality, peace, and democracy.”