‘The prison of the Butterflies’ is dedicated to the four Mirabal sisters, political activists from the Dominican Republic fighting for freedom and democracy. Three sisters were killed by assassins of the dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo during their struggle. November 25th, the anniversary of the murder of the Mirabal sisters, has been designated by the United Nations as the ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’. This poem is also dedicated to the women of Nicaragua.

The prison of the Butterflies

Nobody remembers the name of the first yellow butterfly
with blue eyes looking at the entanglement of history.

With two large circles she fills the days with luminous colours
from the springs that arrive late
to the gardens of the houses of rusty metal and wood rotting
from water and the winter cold.

In love with a dream they leave the pages of the alphabet
to live with the seeds exiled from paradise.
Trees grow others die when the stars are born
and fall from the horizon of empty words
empty like the promises of the cardinals and their cathedrals.

The first yellow butterfly in love
whose name nobody remembers madly in love
with Pan in the municipal garden
wants to fly, fly through all the gardens of the cities.

Yes, fly far away, as far as the tree of life
she leaves in the centre of the well in the desert.

Jailers imprison butterflies in the Temple of Stones.
The crime, the butterflies want the right to dream
and to do what they want with their time as free butterflies.

They want to be free to choose the place, the hour, the tree, the garden
the freedom to choose when they want to be roots
and moons in the sea of cosmic lights.

If she leaves or does not leave swarms of butterflies in the garden
of houses of existential cold she decides this with Harmony.

Mr President of the banana plantation wearing guerrilla green
and presidential sash down to his heels
imposes laws to exterminate the butterflies of History.

And the butterflies live illegally in the big banana plantation
die in the obscurity of streets without numbers
And alone fly and fly and fly far from the barbed wire.

© Carlos Reyes-Manzo
Translated by Valeria Baker

‘La prisión de las Mariposas’ está dedicada a las cuatro hermanas Mirabal de la República Dominicana, activistas políticas luchando por libertad y democracia. Tres hermanas son asesinadas por asesinos del dictador Rafael Leónidas Trujillo durante su lucha. El 25 noviembre, el aniversario del asesinato de las hermanas Mirabel, fue designado por las Naciones Unidas el Día Internacional por la Eliminación de la Violencia contra las Mujeres’. Este poema también está dedicado a las mujeres de Nicaragua.

La prisión de las Mariposas

Nadie recuerda el nombre de la primera mariposa amarilla
de los ojos azules mirando lo inseparable en la historia.

Con dos círculos grandes llena los días de colores luminosos
hasta las primaveras que llegan atrasadas
a los jardines de las casas de latas ocres y maderas podridas
de aguas y el frío de los inviernos.

Enamoradas de una ilusión dejan las paginas del abecedario
para vivir con las semillas desterradas del paraíso.
Los árboles crecen otros mueren cuando nacen las estrellas
y se caen del horizonte de las palabras vacías
vacías como las promesas de los cardenales y su catedrales.

La primera mariposa de colores amarillos y enamorada
nadie recuerda el nombre y que está locamente enamorada
de Pan en el jardín del municipio
quiere volar, volar por todos los jardines de las ciudades.

Sí, volar, lejos, tan lejos como hasta el árbol de la existencia
que deja al medio del jarrón del desierto.

Carceleros encierran mariposas en el Templo de las Piedras.
El delito, las mariposas exigen el derecho a soñar
y hacer lo que quieran con el tiempo de mariposas libres.

Quieren ser libres de elegir el lugar, la hora, el árbol, el jardín
la libertad de elegir cuando quieran ser raíces
y lunas en el mar de las luces cósmicas.

Si deja o no deja enjambres de mariposas en el jardín
de casas del frío existencial lo decide con Armonía.

El Señor presidente de la finca bananera vestido de verde
guerrillero y la banda presidencial hasta los talones
ordena leyes para exterminar las mariposas de Historia.

Y las mariposas viven ilegales en la gran finca bananera
mueren en las oscuridades de las calles sin números.
Y solas vuelan y vuelan y vuelan lejos de los alambres de púa.

© Carlos Reyes-Manzo

The Egyptian authorities must amend existing legislation to better protect women in Egypt, and ensure they play an active role in reforms.

Women played a key role during the 18 days of protest that led to former president Hosni Mubarak’s downfall.

Young and old, veiled and unveiled, educated and illiterate, they stood up and chanted for change. Many abandoned the way they had previously led their lives, and overturned deeply ingrained attitudes surrounding ‘appropriate’ behaviour for women.

However, when discussions on change and reform in Egypt began, they were overlooked.

Click on the banner to take action:

Find out more on the main Amnesty UK site

For the last two days, reports of women’s rights abuses have dominated the homepage of our site amnesty.org.uk, bringing the subject of violence against women to the fore of Amnesty UK’s online campaigning.

Two of the items concern women’s rights in conflict and post conflict situations, one of the 2 most dangerous situations for women in today’s world.  In Bosnia and Herzogovina, the people who raped women during the 1992-1995 conflict have still not been brought to justice.  In Chadian refugee camps, women who have escaped the Darfur conflict continue to face further sexual violence and rape. 

In both of these cases, the women are not just victims of rape – but victims of how society relates to their situation. The Bosnian authorities have failed thousands of rape survivors by not providing them with the the support they need and the reparations they deserve for these war crimes.  In Chad, women are ostracised for having been raped and face rejection from current or prospective husbands; to add to their plight, it is the very people who are looking after the women in the camps that are raping them. 

Sexual violence is inescapable for these women. To varying degrees, violence against women is accepted by all societies  worldwide – making it an inescapable reality of our times. While politically unstable countries seem an obvious environment for mass violence against women, the other most dangerous envrionment for women is in fact the home. The home – that is, in any and every country. 

At last night’s launch of the book Created Equal, the pervasive nature of violence against women was brought into sharp relief.  Clips from Rape in the City (channel 4 Dispatches) showed how widespread violent attitudes towards women are in London.  An informal street interview with a group of young young men quickly revealed a belief that sexual violence serves as a just punishment for women who are seen to insult or offend them.  I was left in disgusted shock, seeing how casually and confidently these men relayed what they would do to ‘offending’ women; listening to a 14 year old girl talk about how she became the victim of gang rape left me reeling.

How to change this situation was a key question for last night’s panel. Damion Carnell of the Nottinghamshire Domestic Violence Forum believes we need to educate young men and boys on non-violence towards women. For producer of Rape in the City, Karen Edwards, it is perhaps raising awareness to incentivise people to take action in their own communities. For Patrick Stewart, who witnessed domestic violence against his mother when he was young, it is patronising and supporting women’s aid organisations and Amnesty’s Stop Violence Against Women Campaign.

So back to our homepage. It is because so many women face the horror of sexual violence everywhere that Amnesty reports so prolifically on it. It is startling to what level women are at risk from gender based violence (i.e. because they are women) in the world today.  It is of course our duty to shout about it, show people that women’s rights are being abused - and to give you the opportunity to do something about it. So here it is:  please pay attention to each item on the homepage and help women who have suffered or are suffering violence in Bosnia, Chad, here – and everywhere.

See Patrick Stewart talk about his ecperience of violence against women – watch the video below.

Although charities such as Womankind, Refuge and the End Violence Against Women coalition (EVAW) have done a lot to raise awareness of violence against women, the new report ‘Map of Gaps’ by EVAW and the Equality and Human Rights Commission indicates that there is still a distinct lack of services for women who suffer violence.

In fact, over 100 (one in four) local authorities in Britain have no specialised support services whatsoever- with ethnic minority women being especially poorly served.

The Commission has announced that it will target over 100 local authorities with the threat of legal action over this lack – and you can do your bit, too.  Simply go to EVAW’s new website Map of Gaps, find out about services in your area and take action by emailing your local MP.

The presentation of this lack of services as a Map of Gaps creates quite a detailed visual image of how women suffering violence fare across Britain – although quite eerie if you live in one of the most underfunded areas, such as the east of England.

It’s great to see the internet being used to such powerful effect, as maps are so accessible, giving a quick overview of a situation – and it seems that I’m not the only one who has come to this realisation, as some of you have even been using the map format to report local snow conditions.

On that note, let’s take inspiration from this map mania and come up with a map of our own;  What do you think we could map ‘live’? All answers on a postcard … or even better, as a comment on this here blog. Let us know what you think we could map out, and remember, points mean prizes!

Find out more on the Map of Gaps report:

• Visit the Map of Gaps website to find out more about services for women who suffer violence in your area and take action
• Hear End Violence Against Women’s Holly Dustin discuss the report on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour
• Read the BBC report Gaps in support for abuse victims