The Legacy of the Mirabal Sisters
We shout their names aloud: Patria, Minerva, and Maria-Teresa. The three Mirabal sisters. Their death is our legacy of resistance. Let us not forget! They warned us: violence against women is synonymous worldwide with patriarchy, dictatorship, destruction, and coercion. But what do we stand for here today?
For: Jin Jiy
an Azadî, nothing less than the demand for a life in freedom! United with the struggle for freedom of all women of this world, we stand side by side, for peace, openness, democracy, diversity of voices, loud or quiet, a colorful mix, and unwavering…
For we have a common goal: the overcoming of the patriarchal system, fatherland, and capitalism! Our legacy is heavy, the path there is stony… Like so many names of our sisters who stood up for the same cause, fought, and fell: we promise you: we bear your names and will forget none of you!!!
The culture of remembrance is part of our history!
For this reason, we remember, for example… Today, November 25th, we remember the Mirabal sisters worldwide, who used the codename “the Butterflies” while underground… There are so many courageous and strong Butterflies, one of whom was Nagîhan Akarsel, who was murdered in broad daylight by the Turkish secret service in Sulaimaniyah on October 4, 2022, because she fought to preserve this heritage. Her idea was to create a shared space where the voices, stories, and resistance of women from all four parts of Kurdistan are remembered and commemorated. All this knowledge about the fighting women, our sisters who became Butterflies, is now gathered in the Kurdish Women’s Library, Archive, and Research Center in Sulaimaniyah.
From here, we send you our warmest greetings and the strength and energy that unites us women internationally and across all borders!
The Mirabal sisters live within us!
Smash patriarchal violence!
Resistance means life!
For a life in freedom: Jin, Jiyan, Azadî
