Minou Mirabal, the niece of Mirabal Sisters came to Turkey as part of event series organized for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which is dedicated to the memory of the Mirabal Sisters who led a revolution against Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
Mirabal’s first stop was Istanbul. In Istanbul, Mirabal met with women at an event titled “Women and Politics” organised by Şişli Municipality, Association for Supporting Women Candidates and Flying Broom Foundation.
Minou is the daughter of Minerva and niece of Maria Teresa and Patria and follows in her mother’s footsteps. She is also a rights defender and linguist.
“Women’s solidarity is political”
The panel, moderated by journalist Işın Eliçin, started with a video about the lives of the Mirabel Sisters. In her speech Minou Mirabel emphasised that women’s solidarity is a political attitude. Emphasising that the politics that will build the spirit of democracy is egalitarian politics, Mirabel continued as follows: “We are marginalised despite all efforts. We are not taken seriously. I am talking about an inclusive politics that takes values and principles into account. There is an unprecedented conflict. We can create the conditions for solving crises from a human rights based point of view. We look from a very different perspective than the economic interests of political interest groups.”
“I am very happy to meet you, I hope that you will be represented at a very high rate in the parliament,” Mirabel said, emphasising that the representation of women in the Turkish Parliament is very low. Mirabel said, “If we want to create change, if we want justice, there is only one way to do this, which is politics. Therefore, politics is an important tool. Women’s solidarity and hope have strengthened us again. We need to use these two concepts very well. Women must speak out against hate speech. This will change the direction of developments in the world.”
Women all over the world have similar problems
Mirabal’s second stop was İzmir. She was the quest of honor of Gülseren Depas’s exhibition called “Women Without Borders 25” at the Women’s Museum.
Expressing that she was happy to be in Turkey, Mirabal expressed her admiration for Atatürk and said: “I have been invited to visit Turkey many times, but the first invitation came from women’s organisations from Izmir. They told me how much they wanted our story to be told here. As a woman from the Dominican Republic, as a Latin American woman, as a woman in this world, I am happy to be here during a very important commemoration period. There are many important reasons why I am here, but I would like to share two of the most important reasons with you. Firstly, I am very happy to be in the country of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has been an inspiration to everyone fighting for human rights, democracy and freedom in the world.
Mirabal pointed out that the second most important reason for her visit to Turkey was to create a bridge between the two countries. Mirabal continued her words as follows; “The second reason is that when we look at the world map, we see how geographically distant we are. We are building a bridge between our countries, between the women of both countries. Because women all over the world have similar problems. Women fall victim to murders in the name of so-called love. The numbers are very close in both countries. In my country a woman is murdered every 36 hours, here a woman is murdered every 24 hours. We live in a democracy, but women cannot fully enjoy their human rights. Because the first human right is the right to life.”
About Minou Mirabal
Minou Tavárez Mirabal, is a Dominican philologist and politician recognized nationally and internationally for her commitment to democracy, justice, the defence of human rights, the fight for equality and non-discrimination.
Marked by the crimes committed in her country, which included the murder of her parents and aunts, since her youth, Minou’s work has been driven by defence of the rights of victims and the creation of transparent, human rights based and efficient institutions.
She led the involvement of the Dominican Republic at the Rome Conference of 1998. Her legislative initiatives and political mobilization were key to securing the Dominican Republic’s ratification of the Rome Statute in 2005, of the APIC in 2008, and to advancing the national implementation of the Statute in her country.
Minou was Vice Chancellor of the Dominican Republic for four years and was a legislator for three terms (2002-2006, 2006-2010 and 2010-2016). As a national legislator, and as a member and later as President of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Minou has worked for more than 20 years for the mission of the Rome Statute and for the strengthening of the ICC and the Trust Fund for Victims. From PGA she actively worked in 76 countries, hand in hand with Court officials, donors and other legislators to achieve the universal ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute.