On the occasion of Haitian Women's Day, celebrated annually on April 3, the United Nations Mission pays tribute to these women with these portraits of women of all ages and backgrounds.
You too can pay tribute to these women by reading each portrait.
Haiti is 52% women, and the Senate is 0.3% women: Dieudonne Luma Etienne.
The Haitian Senate has only one woman in its 50th legislature: Dieudonne Luma Etienne. The 45-year-old, elected from the Nord department during the last legislative elections in 2017, currently sits in parliament and serves as First Secretary of the Senate for the first regular session of the year.
Guerda Benjamin: a second term to continue her fight
MP Guerda Benjamin is one of the few women to have won the trust of her community's voters three times: as mayor in the 2000s, as MP in 2010 for the 49th legislature (elected in the first round), and then for the current 50th legislature. "Keeping one's word" is, according to her, the key to her re-election. Learn more (in French).
Marie Gladice St-Jean Lundy: a member of parliament, devoted to the cause of women.
Her presence in the House of Representatives is no small feat. Out of 49 legislatures, she is the first female MP from the constituency of Jérémie. Her rise to this position was a real struggle.
Learn more (in French).
Raymonde Rival: 4 years to change the economic situation of women
A lawyer by profession, wife, and mother of one daughter, MP Raymonde Rival completed her entire education in Port-au-Prince, due to the lack of adequate school infrastructure in Cornillon. As a teenager, she was already involved in political circles alongside her father before holding her first elected office at the age of 33.
Learn more (in French).
Rudelie: mother and police officer
A member of the 24th class of the Haitian National Police, this native of Acul du Nord, a town located 30 minutes from Cap-Haitien by car, wanted to study law before opting for the police.
Yet, she doesn't regret her choice.
Wideline: committed firefighter
Today, as Chief Operations Officer, Wideline is on the front lines, safeguarding the lives and property of citizens in his community.
Mizou: A woman, a story
With a straw hat on her head, a hoe on her left shoulder, a machete in her right hand, and barefoot, Marie Denise Dorléans, aka Aunt Mizou, heads to her garden, which she is going to "clean up."
Now 60 years old, this woman supports herself practically alone.
Myrtha Vilbon, a model woman
Video Portrait of a Female Entrepreneur Fighting for Gender Equality
Daniola: When a girl decides to become a police officer
"Becoming a police officer was a dream. Now, I'm on the verge of realizing that dream. I'm so excited and enthusiastic."
On September 27, 2015, she walked through the doors of the National Police Academy.
Unexpected gift, transformed life
"I started my business on the sidewalk of Rue 12 in Cap-Haitien, thanks to a donation of 20 US dollars," explains Marie Pierre, better known by her pseudonym "Gros Bébé."
With the 20 dollars, which at the time was worth 100 gourdes, this single woman in her thirties, obsessed with business, decided to change her business.