Indigenous Women Rise For Land, Rights And Self-Determination

On International Women’s Day, the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) celebrates the lives and struggles of Indigenous mothers, sisters and daughters advancing the fight for ancestral lands and the right to self-determination!

Women have played a central role within families and society as bearer of future generations. Even before colonization, Indigenous women lived serving as the backbone of Indigenous communities, leaders of spiritual ceremonies, keepers of traditional knowledge, and carers of natural resources.

Entry of destructive development projects and imperialist plunder, enabled by neoliberal policies and state fascism, into indigenous territories worsen the long standing violence and discrimination they experience as women and Indigenous Peoples. And with the COVID-19 outbreak, global trends show increased violence against Indigenous women and children and increased land grabbing and displacement on top of poverty, historical marginalization, racism, and colonial violence they have long endured.

But Indigenous women never fail to rise. They continue to lead campaigns opposing destructive development projects that are always accompanied by state coercion. They have always been at the forefront, bravely defending ancestral lands and protecting their villages and communities from threats of military and state violence which seek to put corporate profit over peoples’ rights. Indigenous women continue to assert their role as leaders and decision makers to determine their future.

Risking life and limb to protect their right to life and land, Indigenous women around the world are branded as “terrorists”, “rebels”, bandits”, “enemies of the state” and “anti-development” to justify illegal arrests, trumped-up charges and other forms of judicial harassment. All these are nothing but desperate acts to weaken and silence Indigenous resistance and their advocates as protests grow like fire around the globe.

Let us celebrate the unwavering spirit of every Indigenous woman and join them in their struggle for self-determination. For the whole month of March, we put a spotlight on the stories of resistance and victories they have achieved. From Asia to the Pacific and across Africa, we are drawn to look into their realities and urgently extend our unity.

Today, the International IPMSDL stands in solidarity with all the Indigenous women braving everyday risks and threats. Let their commitment to rise from the clutches of gender-based violence, discrimination and imperialist oppression inspire us until the full realization of people’s rights and freedoms.

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