Women across continents are leading frontline resistance movements against the devastating impacts of the global sand mining industry. This series highlights their diverse struggles. In Cambodia, river sand mining causes riverbank collapses that have destroyed the homes and livelihoods of women like Sor Sok Lang. In India, women farmers face arrest and police violence for protesting new mines that threaten their farms, while other mothers mourn sons killed in the dangerous, illegal trade. In Kenya, women like Mary Atieno are speaking out after losing children to deadly sand pit collapses, and in Indonesia, Indigenous Serawai women form human shields and lead protests to protect their traditional mussel-harvesting grounds from iron sand mining. The article reveals how women disproportionately bear the burden of the destructive nature of the industry and, in response, are courageously organizing to protect their communities, livelihoods, and environments.
