International Day of Non-Violence against Women

[NewsWhore]

Today the world commemorates International Day of Non-Violence against Women, and the Dominican Republic remembers the three Mirabal sisters who were murdered by dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo's henchmen on this day in 1960. All three women and their driver Rufino de la Cruz were on the way back to Ojo de Agua, Salcedo, when they were intercepted by the Trujillo security services. They were all beaten to death and then the vehicle they were in was taken to a road up in the hills north of Santiago and pushed off to make the deaths look like an accident. The women were members of a leftist movement, the Catorce de Junio (1J4), which was working against the regime. The assassination of the three women in Puerto Plata and the ensuing cover up are considered to be major turning points in the downfall of the 30-year dictatorship. Marches have taken place in many cities and towns, and banners and placards called for an end to gender violence against women. On 17 December 1999 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution marking the 25 November of each year as the International Day of Non-Violence against Women.

More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)