NÈGÈS MAWON

NÈGÈS MAWON aim to liberate Haitian girls and women from all forms of violence and oppression suffered and tie our feminist struggle to the ideal of justice and freedom ushered by the revolution of 1804. To achieve this political horizon, we work every day to improve the conditions of women and girls in Haiti. We are engaged in promoting, defending and strengthening women's social, cultural, economic and political rights. This struggle is part of the vision of liberation from any system that hinders the full enjoyment by women, all over the world, of their humanity, their rights and their bodies.

WHY NÈGÈS MAWON [MAROON WOMAN]?

"Creole child that still lives within me, you will be born free and rebellious, or you will not be born at all."

These are the last words of Lisette, the main character of Evelyne Trouillot's novel "The Infamous Rosalie" when she fled the plantation where she was held in slavery to offer freedom to her child. The day she becomes a maroon.

Naming our feminist organization "NÈGÈS MAWON" frames it within an impulse identified by historians such as Edner Brutus and Jean Fouchard, who defined marooning as a phenomenon of permanent dissent, which allowed the culmination of the Haitian Revolution. Our feminist struggle is part of the legacy and ideals of justice and freedom brought about by the revolution of 1804. Our feminist struggle is also grounded in the struggles of women around the world who came before us and of which we are the heirs. Today it amplifies the struggles of our sisters around the globe for the advancement of women's movements.

We're reclaiming the symbol of the maroon, that symbol of freedom, rebellion, revolt, thirst for justice and vitality, to express, we young women of today, our fight against all forms of violence, discrimination, oppression, marginalization or exclusion that are anchored in patriarchy. We've feminized this symbol to protest the invisibilization, minimization or distortion of women's contribution to our nations and world history.

NÈGÈS MAWON, to pay tribute to all those women warriors who forged this nation for with their blood, sweat and lives since 1492. NÈGÈS MAWON, to be the worthy heirs of these heroines that history remembers but also those that history has forgotten, has hidden.

NÈGÈS MAWON, so that our struggle can keep alive those who have cried out for centuries, on our soil but also all over the world: "FREEDOM OR DEATH".

OUR POLITICAL VISION

 What we want

 Justice, equality and access to rights, resources, opportunities, well-being and happiness for girls and women. To this end:

•  Ensuring respect for the rights and interests of girls and women 
•  Dismantle inequalities and the forces responsible for systemic discrimination experienced by women.
•  Eliminate all forms of violence, discrimination, oppression, marginalization or exclusion against women
• Achieve equality between women and men in all sectors of society
• Respect the rights of women and girls, considering the links between different forms of discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, age, and class. 
• To establish women's autonomy and leadership in the personal, social, economic, cultural and political spheres, thus allowing for a real and effective change in their living conditions and situation.

 Our mandate

 Support and accompaniment: aware that solidarity is a pillar of Haitian society stand, we want to contribute to meeting material, psychological and administrative support and aid from a feminist perspective.

 Action and mobilization: it is important for us to claim our right to public space, which is why Nègès Mawon hosts many public actions and events such as demonstrations, artistic performances, debates or other.

 Bringing together and gathering :working for justice and equality properly envisioned without training and sharing knowledge and analysis on the various forms of domination and oppression we experience as girls and women. Therefore we offer many meetings and trainings to understand, exchange and learn.

 Advocacy: Haitian feminist struggle has made key political victories achievable, but these important victories should not make us forget all the ones are left to win. That is why our organization is involved in legislative monitoring and advocacy to ensure that public policy for the protection and political, social, cultural and economic autonomy of women is enshrined in law.