The world commemorates International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women every Nov. 25. The United Nations has dedicated the day to the global campaign opposing violence against women since 1999 although women activists have observed the day since 1981 after the Dominican President Rafael Trujillo ordered the assassination of the Mirabal sisters in 1960.

What is the moral of this story? It takes time for the truth to be known and for the wrongdoings to be fixed, provided people do not forget.

Another story is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that is commonly referred as international bill of rights for women, adopted by the UN in 1979. The convention binds signatory parties to take measures to end discrimination that restricts women’s equal rights and freedoms in all sectors. Despite the slow adoption, by November, 187 out of 193 countries in the world had ratified the convention.