Lora, Staat, Taylor 1

Mirari L., Madison S., Trey T.

Ms. Woelke

Pre-AP English 9

8 February 2019

"Violence Against Women and the Example of the Mirabal Sisters" Speech

In Minou Tavárez Mirabal’s insightful speech, “Violence Against Women and the

Example of the Mirabal Sisters”, (6 November 2006) she portrays her goal of combating

violence against women and her understandable belief of supporting equal opportunities for

women and men in political life. The author first explains how women have been under stress all

throughout history by providing historic context on the treatment of women in the Dominican

Republic; she then begins telling the story of her well-known mother Minerva Mirabal by

expressing Minerva's political goals and informing the audience on Minerva's tragical death at

the hands of a violent dictator; and to conclude Tavárez-Mirabal praises everyone who's helped

in the ongoing movement of achieving gender equality and abolishing violence against women.

Minou Tavárez Mirabal’s purpose is to enlighten her audience about the ongoing issues that

occur in today’s society revolving the gender stereotypes and expectations put against women, in

order to break these unfulfilling habits our generation has created to bring negative context to the

people in our community. Her audience seems to be passionate, apprehensive, and involved men

and women that are looking to be informed and enlightened on the developing issue of gender

inequality and violence against women that affect everyone.

Minou Tavárez Mirabal begins her enriching lecture by building rapport with her

audience while smoothly introducing her topic of ending violence against women and
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encouraging gender equality. Tavárez Mirabal advances by sharing how she discovered that

“indigenous Taina women would commit group suicide to avoid bearing children for the Spanish

conquistadores”(Tavárez Mirabal 2). She is providing historical context for the treatment of

women in the Dominican Republic that helps the audience realize how gruesomely the

indigenous Taina women must have been treated by the Spaniards to commit such a heinous act

onto themselves. Tavárez Mirabal also takes note of Luis Vitales, a historian, who refers to

women being the invisible half of history, explaining how most leading female figures that have

accomplished so many positive deeds, haven't been recognized as the valuable citizens they are.

Minou Tavárez Mirabal speaks up about how “participation is a central focus of the political

dynamic” when “embarking upon a process of transition to democracy,”(Tavárez Mirabal 3).

This is a fundamental claim that helps uninformed readers understand the struggle that everyday

women have gaining trust and respect in a political and social system created in favor of men,

despite their constant verification of their abilities and knowledge. Tavárez Mirabal's claim also

introduces the concept that both genders adequately benefit from a democracy which gives them

freedom while still holding a light to her main topic, violence against women. In this

introduction, Minou Tavárez Mirabal gives her readers an authentic and clear focus on the battle

that females all over the world have with gender inequality and violence against women. (Mirari

Lora)

Throughout Minou Tavárez Mirabal’s speech, she develops her claim by introducing

shocking facts and talking about emotional stories of the “Butterflies” which appeals to readers

by using emotion and logic to persuade the reader to stand up for violence against women. The

author uses statistics to target the readers emotion when describing how “the last six years nearly
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911 women of various ages have lost their lives in ‘ femicides’ committed’’’(Mirabal Par.5).

This quote is targeting the readers sense of sympathy for other people's lives lost which will

cause them to want to put a stop towards the abuse of women. The author used this quote to

really integrate on how serious this problem really is in the Dominican Republic. The author also

appeals to the readers sense of emotion when talking about the tragedy of the Mirabal sisters and

states, “women of the world to the struggle to eradicate gender violence every November 25th,

the date on which they were murdered,”(Mirabal Par.7). During Minou’s persuasive speech, she

mentions the sisters because they are symbolic of freedom, equality, and standing up for what's

right. She used the sisters as a tool to connect with the audience by appealing to their emotions

and sympathy for the Mirabal sisters. Finally, Mirabal finishes off her evidence and leads into

her conclusion statement ending off with the strong message that the women of today must stand

up against discrimination, and continue the fight for equality.-Trey Taylor

To conclude, Minou Tavárez Mirabal wraps up her very convincing, informative lecture

by summarizing the points she’s made for the duration of the declamation describing the fight for

gender equality using real life examples of the Mirabal sisters. She sets her point straight that the,

“Women’s organizations have played a primary role in putting gender issues on our country’s

public agenda.” while amidst using loaded language to convey a serious yet hopeful tone when

describing, “The process of challenges, mobilizations, legislative proposals and lobbying for

their adoption… to gain access for more women to the spaces where the decisions that change

political life are taken.”(Mirabal, Para. 16). The author expresses this in order to give closure to

her claim of equal opportunity revolving mainly women in politics. She does this with the use of

diction in a sophisticated manner to assert her argument. Mirabal provokes readers to take a
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stand, “to raise our voice and say that Minerva lives, that the Mirabal sisters live, no longer just

in the Dominican Republic but here among you...and serves to repudiate the violence that our

societies have visited upon women,”(Mirabal, Para. 17). The importance of this quote is to act as

a call to action to get people to be the positive influence in today’s cultural stereotypes made

everyday. She does this while including symbolism from the “Butterflies” to prove this is an

ongoing issue that affects the lives of everyday people in society. All in all, the author wraps up

her synopsis and ends with a quote that gives authority to the Mirabal sisters and their battle for

freedom.(Madison Staat)

As shown, “Violence Against Women and the Example of the Mirabal Sisters”, is a

strong-willed speech meant to bring action into the hidden issue of gender discrimination all

around the world. The author uses the Mirabal sisters as a symbol to eradicate the daily struggle

women face constantly not only in the political world but in their everyday lives as well. She

does this using historical context and emphasis in her language to persuade people to stand up for

what's right. Overall, it may be said that Minou Tavávrez Mirabal’s take on this demanding

matter of contention provides convincing explanations and informative evidence to back her

thoughts on this arising issue of gender equality and the ongoing battle of violence against

women.