6 Indigenous Women Activists of the Amazon You Should Know

Across the Amazon rainforest, the legacy of Indigenous women as fierce protectors of the environment has shaped a powerful movement against exploitation and climate threats.

Women in various Indigenous communities across the Amazon have kept up the fight against the injustices that face their lands for decades. In the early 2000s some of these women united in yearly marches known as Marchas das Maragarida, in honour of the late Margarida Maria Alve, which focused on advocating for women’s rights, education, and land reform — and this movement is still alive today. More recent movements such as Mujeres Amazónicas have taken significant steps against governmental and corporate efforts to threaten their ancestral land.

Indigenous women’s leadership has led to successful landmark court rulings that have helped safeguard ancestral territories from oil extractions, such as the women from The Kichwa People of Srayaku, who in 2003 successfully expelled oil industries from their sacred lands.