Mourning the loss of Haitian Women's Rights Leaders

The reports from Haiti are more tragic everyday.  The loss, the devastation, the aftershock, the grief and the suffering.  Today, there are reports of losses to the women’s human rights movement– Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan are Haitian women’s human rights defenders who were victims of the earthquake.  This tragic loss will be mourned throughout the global women’s rights community but the impact will be felt deeply as Haiti rebuilds.

Women’s rights and gender equality must be promoted during the humanitarian relief process but also during the rebuilding process.  On the Dianne Rehm show yesterday, academics and relief organizations spoke about the importance of recognizing the risk of gender based violence in refugee camps and the threat of violence against displaced women. 

Amnesty recently reported on sexual violence against school girls in Haiti. The women’s rights leaders who lost their lives spoke out against the issue of gender violence in Haiti before the earthquake.   The people of Haiti, and all of us, relied on human rights defenders like these to take a stand.  My thoughts go out to the families of them and all of the victims of this disaster.

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10 thoughts on “Mourning the loss of Haitian Women's Rights Leaders

  1. As a sign of respect for the souls of those women, who fought to the very last minute of their life against sexual violence and discrimination, these inhumane acts should be ruled out in the process of Haiti's rebuild.

  2. As a sign of respect for the souls of those women, who fought to the very last minute of their life against sexual violence and discrimination, these inhumane acts should be ruled out in the process of Haiti’s rebuild.

  3. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/haiti-earthqua

    "Even before Tuesday's massive earthquake, statistics had shown that Haiti is a dangerous place to give birth. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Haiti has the highest rate of infant, under-five and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

    Out of every 1,000 children born alive, 57 die before their first birthdays in Haiti. By comparison, in the United States the rate is 7 per 1,000. And according to the UNICEF's 2005 statistics, the maternal death rate stood at 670 deaths per 100,000 births — a rate that puts it closer to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa than neighbors in the Americas. Just across the border in the Dominican Republic, only 150 women per 100,000 births die.

    Other statistics are equally grim. A woman in Haiti has a 1 in 44 chance of dying from childbirth in her lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. The comparable statistic for the United States is 1 in 4,800."

  4. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/haiti-earthqua

    "Even before Tuesday's massive earthquake, statistics had shown that Haiti is a dangerous place to give birth. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Haiti has the highest rate of infant, under-five and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

    Out of every 1,000 children born alive, 57 die before their first birthdays in Haiti. By comparison, in the United States the rate is 7 per 1,000. And according to the UNICEF's 2005 statistics, the maternal death rate stood at 670 deaths per 100,000 births — a rate that puts it closer to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa than neighbors in the Americas. Just across the border in the Dominican Republic, only 150 women per 100,000 births die.

    Other statistics are equally grim. A woman in Haiti has a 1 in 44 chance of dying from childbirth in her lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. The comparable statistic for the United States is 1 in 4,800."

  5. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/haiti-earthqua

    "Even before Tuesday's massive earthquake, statistics had shown that Haiti is a dangerous place to give birth. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Haiti has the highest rate of infant, under-five and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

    Out of every 1,000 children born alive, 57 die before their first birthdays in Haiti. By comparison, in the United States the rate is 7 per 1,000. And according to the UNICEF's 2005 statistics, the maternal death rate stood at 670 deaths per 100,000 births — a rate that puts it closer to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa than neighbors in the Americas. Just across the border in the Dominican Republic, only 150 women per 100,000 births die.

    Other statistics are equally grim. A woman in Haiti has a 1 in 44 chance of dying from childbirth in her lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. The comparable statistic for the United States is 1 in 4,800."

  6. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/haiti-earthquake-mother-delivers-disaster-zone/story?id=9587264

    “Even before Tuesday’s massive earthquake, statistics had shown that Haiti is a dangerous place to give birth. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Haiti has the highest rate of infant, under-five and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

    Out of every 1,000 children born alive, 57 die before their first birthdays in Haiti. By comparison, in the United States the rate is 7 per 1,000. And according to the UNICEF’s 2005 statistics, the maternal death rate stood at 670 deaths per 100,000 births — a rate that puts it closer to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa than neighbors in the Americas. Just across the border in the Dominican Republic, only 150 women per 100,000 births die.

    Other statistics are equally grim. A woman in Haiti has a 1 in 44 chance of dying from childbirth in her lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. The comparable statistic for the United States is 1 in 4,800.”

  7. I wish more people were like Mr. George Clooney. What he has done to help the Haitian people is just amazing. So many of the Hollywood celebrities are just phonies looking for publicity. George is one of the true greats.

  8. I wish more people were like Mr. George Clooney. What he has done to help the Haitian people is just amazing. So many of the Hollywood celebrities are just phonies looking for publicity. George is one of the true greats.

  9. I wish more people were like Mr. George Clooney. What he has done to help the Haitian people is just amazing. So many of the Hollywood celebrities are just phonies looking for publicity. George is one of the true greats.

  10. I wish more people were like Mr. George Clooney. What he has done to help the Haitian people is just amazing. So many of the Hollywood celebrities are just phonies looking for publicity. George is one of the true greats.

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