Myriam Merlet

Myriam Merlet (c. 1957 – January 12, 2010) was a political activist, scholar and economist who served as Chief of Staff of Haiti's Ministry for Gender and the Rights of Women, from 2006 to 2008.[1][2] One of the particular focuses of her work was on rape culture.[3]

Biography

In the 1970s, Merlet left Haiti and fled to Montreal, Canada where she studied feminist theory, sociology and economics.[1] However, six months after the end of the Jean-Claude Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, she returned to Haiti[4][5] because she felt that as a Haitian woman she needed to make an effort to solve the nation's problems.[1] She worked to raise the profile of women in Haiti and abroad,[6] founding Enfofanm, an organization that raises awareness about the challenges facing women in Haiti, and campaining for several Haitian streets to be named after women. In 2001 she was instrumental in bringing The Vagina Monologues to the island. Vagina Monologue author Eve Ensler's 2011 spotlight monologue entitled "Myriam" is a tribute and rallying cry to the work that Myriam accomplished in Haiti. The monologue describes how Eve called her friend's cellphone, "believing the ring would find you and wake you, your cell gripped in your buried hand." [7]

Merlet participated in the creation and was a longtime spokeswoman for the Coordination Nationale pour le Plaidoyer des Femmes (CONAP), for which she famously battled against sexism in the publicity industry, especially on billboards.[8]

Merlet also played a key role, with other haitian feminists and members of the government, in helping change the haitian legal status of rape.[9] Until a new law was pass in 2005, rape was not considered a crime in Haiti, but a public decency offence.

She died in Port-au-Prince in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[1]

Selected works

Books

Papers

Open letters

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jessica Ravitz (25 January 2010). "Women's movement mourns death of 3 Haitian leaders". CNN. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Myriam Merlet (1956-2010)". OREGAND. 21 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Mar (15 January 2010). "The Mongoose Chronicles". Mongoosechronicles.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  4. ↑ "Canadians in Haiti: Stories of loss and remembrance". CBC News. 5 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Monique Durand (27 December 2008). "Une seconde vie à Haïti". Le Devoir.
  6. ↑ "Haitian Feminist Leader Myriam Merlet (1953-2010)". Democracy Now!. 19 January 2010.
  7. ↑ Eve Ensler (12 January 2011). "Eve's 2011 Haiti Spotlight Monologue - "Myriam Merlet"". vday.org. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  8. ↑ "Haiti : Les féministes persistent à exiger le retrait d’une affiche publicitaire « sexiste »". AlterPresse. 11 January 2005.
  9. ↑ Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals (15 March 2015). "Myriam Merlet: The Lost Hero". Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them.
  10. ↑ Chantal Maillé (2013). "Compte rendu: La participation politique des femmes en Haïti. Quelques éléments d'analyse". Revue Recherches féministes.
  11. ↑ Beverly Bell (2011). Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance. Cornell University Press.
  12. ↑ Myriam Merlet (2 February 2004). "Forces vives d’Haiti décrétent le Gouvernement Lavalas hors la loi". ENFOFANM.
  13. ↑ Myriam Merlet (6 May 2005). "Un Antiféminisme Haïtien ? Ou questionnements sur la volonté d’anéantir une pensée Riche et Porteuse". AlterPresse.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.