{"id":69792,"date":"2025-04-25T15:16:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T03:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=69792"},"modified":"2025-06-05T07:34:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T19:34:43","slug":"meet-6-marshallese-women-activists-who-are-changing-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/meet-6-marshallese-women-activists-who-are-changing-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet 6 Marshallese Women Activists Who Are Changing the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Across cultures and religions, there are various stories of creation and beginnings. In the Marshall Islands, creation began with three sisters: Liwatuonmour, Lidepdepju, and Lijileijet<\/a>. Traveling on a canoe from the island of Ep\/Uap in the west, they arrived on the various islands and bore children to the island chiefs (Iroij), which is how the people of the Marshall Islands came to be. These days, the sisters \u2013 goddesses \u2013 are said to be in the form of nature. Liw\u0101tuonmour (meaning \u201cwoman of life-giving land\u201d) and Lidepdepju<\/a> are the stones living on Namo and Aur atoll, respectively; and Lijileijet (meaning \u201cwoman of the sea\u201d) is the sea mist on Namo atoll. <\/p>\n\n

In the Marshall Islands, ancient tales, or bwebwenato<\/em><\/a>, center women as the protagonists, ancestors, and heroes. As one of the few countries with a matrilineal society \u2013 land is passed down the maternal rather than the paternal line \u2013 women are at the heart of storytelling. As characters they are more than mothers \u2013 they are navigators, intellectuals, teachers, and key decision makers whose rich knowledge and resourcefulness have allowed communities to thrive. <\/p>\n\n

\"Local
Women selling local handicrafts and goods at a local market in Majuro, Marshall Islands.
This image was taken at an International Women\u2019s day event. \u00a9 Bianca Vitale \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

With an image connected to nuclear legacy<\/a>, climate change, and the very real threat of further displacement due to rising sea levels<\/a>, it is women who are at the forefront of the small but sprawling Pacific Island nation. Using resilience, resistance, and persistence they are actively changing the narrative and re-shaping the identity of the Marshall Islands on the global stage. <\/p>\n\n

Here are just some women from the Marshall Islands who have led, inspired, and are never giving up.<\/p>\n\n

Darlene Keju \u2013 she who could not remain silent <\/h2>\n\n
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