Southeast Asia

Nathalie Margi details the stories of three women environmental activists in Southeast Asia who have taken action at the grassroots level to defend the earth from the extractive industries that threaten the health and safety of their communities. Bai Ali Indayla, a Moro activist from the Philippines, fights back against the multinational corporations that exploit her community’s land and resources and degrade the environment. Eva Bande, an Indonesian land rights activist, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for her work with Palm Oil Advocacy, an organization that resists illegal land grabs, extraction, and other forms of environmental destruction. Another Indigenous Indonesian earth defender and human rights activist Jull Takaliuang, has also experienced various forms of violence for her work to fight back against harmful extractive industries like gold mining and illegal logging. Women like Indayla, Bande, and Takaliuang fight on the frontlines of climate change, but are silenced in international conversation to advance climate efforts and solutions.