The four sisters known as ?Las Mariposas? ?the butterflies ? were ordinary people, changed by living in a dictatorship. In the years of Trujillo?s reign over the Dominican Republic, Las Mariposas became first victims and then warriors. They saw family members jailed and killed; they led protests and spearheaded a resistance movement.
On November 25, 1960, as Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa went to visit their jailed husbands, they were killed; their strangled corpses were found at the bottom of an abyss. Only Dede was left to tell their story. Las Mariposas became emblematic figures. At a1981 conference in Latin America November 25 was commemorated. In honour of the butterflies, it became an occasion to denounce violence against women.
From November 25 to December 10, human rights groups all over the world dedicate these two weeks to asking for an end to gender violence ? wherever it exists, whether it?s carried out in the silence of our homes or in the prisons of the state. Here?s a wishlist for India.
Changes in the rape laws: India?s laws on rape are desperately antiquated. The law as it stands does not recognise the existence of marital rape, has no separate laws to address child rape, and has an unhealthy obsession with penile penetration as the only form of rape that counts. The world has moved swiftly since the Victorian Era; it?s time the laws caught up.
The right to be safe within our homes: Those of us who have supportive, non-violent partners cannot begin to imagine how terrifying and abrading to the self domestic violence can be. Women should have the right not to be verbally, mentally or physically abused, not to be raped or sexually coerced by their partners, not to see their children become the targets of violence and sexual abuse.
The right to work and move freely, without fear: No woman should have to be afraid to walk down a public road, or to draw water from a village well, or to go and see a late night film, or to take a bus. Wherever we are, whatever we want to do, so long as it?s legal, we should not have to worry about being accosted, assaulted, abused or murdered in public spaces. Every day, the headlines prove just how distant this particular dream of safety is. And we deserve better than to be subjected to sexual abuse at the workplace, whether we work in factories or fields or other people?s homes or fancy corporate offices.
The right not to be terrorised by the state: In times of war, women are the first casualties; in times of peace, ask women who organise protest movements and rights movements how often womens? rights have been abused by the state. Some prisons turn a blind eye to rape; some police stations use rape and assault as tools of the trade; some politicians abuse their positions by abusing women. None of this is acceptable.
If this seems like a long list, reflect on this: the only thing we?re asking for is the right to be safe. A list of rights that covered everything women want, and everything Las Mariposas fought for would spill out of this column and overflow the borders of this paper. For now, these basics will have to do.
