Feminist to Know: Rigoberta Menchú Tum

Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a Guatemalan human rights and Indigenous justice activist. She has spent her life organizing on behalf of her Mayan K’iche’ community as well as other Indigenous communities in Guatemala and around the world. Her activism started at a young age when she worked alongside her father on behalf of the Committee for Peasant Unity, a powerful Indigenous Guatemalan labor organization. As a young woman, she fought for a place within the man-led movement against colonial exploitation. 

During the 36-year-long Guatemalan Civil War, Menchú Tum organized for justice for the myriad human rights violations committed by the state’s military forces, many of which were perpetrated against Indigenous women. Like many other Mayan Guatemalans, Menchú Tum fled to Mexico at the height of the civil war and continued to organize from abroad, co-founding the United Republic of Guatemalan Opposition. After the civil war ended in 1996, Menchú Tum returned to lead accountability efforts in Guatemala, including helping to bring about the 2006 Spanish extradition and prosecution of key Guatemalan military leaders on counts of genocide and torture.

Menchú Tum’s activism during the civil war made her into a community leader with a global platform. In 1992, she was honored for her work with the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2007, Menchú Tum ran for office and attempted to form the first Indigenous political party in Guatemala (Encuentro por Guatemala). Though her bid was unsuccessful, she later helped to lead another Indigenous political party, Winaq, which did become the first Indigenous political party of Guatemala.

Now, Menchú Tum continues to speak out, focusing on issues of climate change and global economic equality. Her focus on defending, protecting, and empowering Indigenous women against military violence and colonial exploitation has profoundly shaped Guatemalan politics and world history.