On the global front lines of climate justice, few stories resonate as powerfully as that of Mariluz Canaquiri Murayari. This year, the Peruvian Indigenous leader was awarded the prestigious 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize for her tireless work defending the Marañón River. A grandmother and leader of the Kukama people, Mariluz organized local women to launch a historic legal campaign, resulting in the Marañón being granted rights as a living entity, a first in Peru’s history. Her fight against pollution, extractive industries, and colonial power structures has become a symbol of Indigenous resilience and environmental justice.
But Mariluz is not alone.
Around the world, other women are leading movements, shaping narratives, and making change happen across communities and continents.
Here are 11 more women you should be following:
Anabela Lemos Justiça Ambiental Zambezi River, Mozambique
Anabela Lemos is an environmental activist and founder of Justiça Ambiental-Mozambican civil society organization committed to the struggle for environmental and social justice and to building a new socio-economic paradigm. She recently won the Swedish government’s Per Anger Prize! Lemos for the over 20 years of just energy transition work she leads in Mozambique focused on respecting the human rights of local people.
Angelique Mvuezolo Femmes du Fleuve, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Angelique is the founder and director of a women’s organisation, Femmes du Fleuve based in Inga Community in DRC. Her community would be impacted by the construction of the Inga hydropower project which she and other women have opposed over many years. The organisation works with local women in rural areas to protect water and forests and promote renewable energy. They empower women in the protection of their natural resources and promote food security and access to clean energy.
Bertha Zúniga Cáceres COPINH Río Gualcarque, Honduras
Bertha is a Honduran social activist of Lenca descent. She is the daughter of social leader Berta Cáceres, who was murdered in 2016. Soon after assuming her mother’s role of general coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in May 2017, Zúñiga Cáceres survived an attempt on her own life.
Bhanu Tatak Dibang Resistance Arunachal Pradesh, India
Bhanu Tatak is an Indigenous researcher, legal advisor, and activist from Arunachal Pradesh, India, working to protect the Siang and Dibang Rivers from destructive hydropower projects. For nearly a decade, she has mobilized communities and advocated for Indigenous sovereignty, both locally and at international forums like the UNRBHR. A recipient of the 2023 Bhagirath Prayas Samman, Bhanu is also leading efforts to advance rights-based energy alternatives and push for policy reforms in Arunachal’s hydropower sector. Her work is rooted in justice, creativity, and deep care for people and the planet.
Fernanda Castro Purran Ríos to Rivers Chile Biobío River, Chile
Fernanda Castro Purran is from the Pehuenche Mapul Callaquí tribe located in the upper basin of the Biobío. A high school tourism teacher, trekking guide, and environmental defender, Fernanda grew up surrounded by mountains and rivers, guided by the teachings of her maternal family and their spiritual traditions. She is the co-founder of Malen Leubü (“Girls of the River”), the first Pehuenche women’s rafting team, which uses whitewater sports to connect youth with river conservation and cultural identity. Now the director of Ríos to Rivers Chile, Fernanda inspires a new generation to protect sacred waters and uphold the Mapuche principle that we are only visitors on this Earth—and must live with gratitude and care.
Juanita Ariza Red Nacional del Agua Colombia
Juanita is an environmental activist and creator of the National Water Network of Colombia.
Kaushila Rai INWOLAG Seti River, Nepal
Kaushila is an Indigenous activist and lawyer. She owns her own law firm and has been supporting women with her legal services regarding domestic violence, Indigenous women’s rights, and gender rights for more than 22 years. As an activist, she promotes the rights of women and the Indigenous community through advocacy, free legal aid, and trainings. She is a founding member and current General Secretary of INWOLAG, or Indigenous Women Legal Awareness Group, and is currently involved in conducting awareness programs centered on Indigenous women regarding their rights and gender violence.
Mayalmit Lepcha Affected Citizens of Teesta Teesta River, India
Mayalmit Lepcha is an Indigenous activist from Dzongu, Sikkim, who has spent over a decade protecting the sacred Teesta River from destructive hydropower development. She has deep spiritual and cultural ties to the Rongyoung River and sees rivers as living ancestors that must be safeguarded for future generations. As a volunteer with the Affected Citizens of Teesta, Mayalmit has helped stop multiple dam projects and continues to organize with fierce dedication alongside other Lepcha women. “The river cannot raise its voice,” she says, “but I can.”
Medha Patkar Narmada Bachao Andolan Narmada River, India
Medha Patkar is an Indian social activist working on various crucial political and economic issues raised by tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India. She is an alumnus of TISS, a premier institute of social science research in India. Patkar is the founder member of the 32 years old people’s movement called Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). NBA is an Indian social movement spearheaded by native tribals (adivasis), farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against a number of large dam projects across the Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Parineeta Dandekar Rights of Rivers South Asia (RORSA) and South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People (SANDRP), India
A long-time expert on rivers and the current Associate Coordinator, South Asia Network on. Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP). As Parineeta reminds us, “Rivers bind people together”.
Zoe Lujic Earth Thrive Balkan Rivers, Serbia
Zoe is a deep ecologist and Founder and Director of Earth Thrive, an international organization for the rights of animals and nature and against #ecocide in the Balkans and Mediterranean regions.
