25 of November in Switzerland

We hereby share an unofficial translation of a report published by Avrupa Haber of the mobilizations that took place on the International Day Against Violence Against Women.

On November 25, 1960, in the Dominican Republic, the Mirabel sisters—Patria, Minerva, and Maria—were found at the bottom of a ravine, having been raped and brutally murdered. The Mirabel sisters were leaders of the underground movement which fought against the dictatorship of Trujillo.

In 1981, at the Latin American Women’s Conference, it was declared that the date of November 25, when the Mirabel sisters were killed, would be recognized as the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.”

Since then, this date has become a day of struggle for women who are oppressed, exploited, subjected to violence, or murdered.

The Zurich November 25 Committee invited women to take to the streets with the slogan “We fight together here and everywhere.”

On Tuesday, November 25, at 19:00, despite heavy police presence, women gathered in Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse.

The crowd, marching from Bahnhofstrasse to Helvetiaplatz, frequently chanted slogans such as “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi,” “A-anti-anticapitalista,” “Free, Free Palestine,” “Ni una menos,” “Yes means yes and no means no,” “Alerta Alerta Anti-sexista,” and “Siamo Tutti Antifascisti.” Among the participating organizations were the Purple-Red Collective, SKB, ADKH, and New Democratic Women.

The Purple-Red Collective called out with the slogan “On November 25, we take to the streets against all forms of violence against women, imperialist aggression, and racism,” carrying a banner that read in German, “Let us turn our anger into resistance on our day of struggle.” Additionally, they held signs honoring Renukayoldaşı, a cadre of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) who was killed by the reactionary Indian state, and Adivasi women resisting in India, as well as signs for Gülistan Doku, who was lost in Dersim on January 5, 2020. Protesters chanted: “Where is Gülistan Doku?”

The march concluded with statements made at Helvetiaplatz.