Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal of the Dominican Republic were sisters who actively opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. They were beaten to death while going to visit Patria and Minerva's imprisoned husbands. (The sisters themselves had previously been jailed for their activities.) The government declared the sisters had died in an accident, but the public outcry turned them into symbols of resistance to the regime. (Trujillo would be assassinated in May 1961.)
In 1999 the United Nation designated November 25 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
* Summary from Amnesty International: @
* About "In the Time of the Butterflies" (novel based on the sisters): @
* More about U.N. designation: @
* Photo gallery: @
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