A feminist visual artist, María María Acha-Kutscher’s work tells women’s stories. Through her various projects, including her illustrations for the #DefendHer campaign, María María’s artwork shows the lives of real women who have shaped our world by advocating for a more just and equal society. María María—like Global Fund for Women, JASS, and MADRE—believes art…

When Alia was 13 years old, her parents died, leaving her in charge of her two brothers. With no way to provide for her family or pay rent, her neighbor pressured her into marrying him so that she and her brothers could continue to live in their home. Her husband soon became abusive. When Alia…

Ana Sandoval hadn’t yet finished high school when she began asking the questions that would lead her to co-found Communities in Peaceful Resistance “La Puya” to oppose a gold mining megaproject in her community. She soon became a leader of an unprecedented movement to defend land and resources, based on non-violent direct action and led…

As an activist, trans, and queer person, Azra has experienced discrimination, hate speech, and violence. Her identity as an activist is rooted in a deep sense of justice and responsibility. “I really believe that as someone who has survived and lived through injustice it’s my duty to react and to do right against the injustice,”…

Peace has been an elusive goal in Bai Bibyaon Bigkay’s lifetime, but she has never stopped working for it. For the Manobo leader, there can be no peace without the right to live and work in her ancestral lands in western Mindanao. Bai Bibyaon was born during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World…

As a girl growing up in Burundi, Honorate Nizigiyimana experienced firsthand the disregard toward women’s and girls’ human rights. But instead of accepting this injustice, Honorate was inspired by it to pursue her work as a woman human rights defender. “Even though I am the eldest of my family, I am still considered to be…

“At one point in my life I found myself in a challenging economic environment in Russia, and I had a really difficult period of time,” says Irina Maslova, a women human rights defender in Russia. “I know what sex work is from the inside, and I know its different aspects very well.” Irina began her…