Patria Mercedes Mirabal (February 27, 1924 - November 25, 1960), Minerva Argentina Mirabal (March 12, 1926 - November 25, 1960) and Antonia Maria Teresa Mirabal (October 15, 1936 - November 25, 1960), were natives of the Dominican Republic that fervently opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The fourth sister, Bélgica Adela "Dedé" Mirabal-Reyes, did not have an active role in working against the dictator.

The Mirabal sisters grew up in a high class, well cultured environment. All became married, family women. When Trujillo came to power, their family lost almost all of their fortune. They believed that Trujillo would send their country into economic chaos, and went on to form a group of opposers to the Trujillo regime. It was known as the movement of the fourteenth of June. Inside that group, they were known as Las Mariposas, or The Butterflies. They were incarcerated and tortured on several occasions. Despite these setbacks, they went on with their fight to try to put an end to Trujillo's dictatorship. After numerous imprisonments, Trujillo decided to get rid of the sisters. On November 25, 1960, he sent men to intercept the three after they visited their husbands in prison. The three women were unarmed. They were led into a cane field and beaten and strangled to death.

Trujillo believed at the time that he had gotten rid of a big problem. However, having the three sisters killed backfired at him, because the Dominican public became more keen of the Mirabal sisters and their cause, which contributed to Trujillo's assassination six months later in 1961. The killing of the Mirabal sisters caused a general public outrage in their native country.

The Mirabal sisters are buried in Ojos de Agua, Dominican Republic, an area outside the city of Salcedo. They are buried in on the property of their second home, where they lived the last ten months of their lives. This home has also been turned into a museum in their honor and is open to the public. There is also a library, bookstore, and souvenir shop located on the property. The three sisters are buried together, and Manolo, Minerva's husband, is also buried with them.

The surviving sister, Dede, lives within a nearby distance of the museum. One of her sons, Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, served as the vice-president during Leonel Fernández's first term as president of the republic.

On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 25th, the anniversary of the day of the murder of the Mirabal sisters, as the annual date for the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women" in commemoration of the sisters' sacrifice.

In 1995, Dominican-American author Julia Alvarez released the popular novel "In the Time of the Butterflies", a fictionalized account of the lives of the Mirabal sisters. The novel went on to become the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies, with Salma Hayek playing Minerva and Edward James Olmos as Trujillo. Marc Anthony also plays a role in the movie.

External link

• http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2000/sites/mirabal/mainpage.html