Gloria Ushigua is President of the Sápara women's organisation Ashiñwaka, which defends Sápara people's ancestral land and environmental rights in the province of Pastaza. Since 2010, the human rights defender has been invested in the defence of her community in the Ecuadorean Amazon, primarily against private and State-owned companies seeking to exploit oil deposits in Sápara territory.
In addition to land defense, Ashiñwaka is a safe haven for Sápara women to report cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse, assisting abused women and children to seek medical help and take legal action. They empower Sápara women with organizational and political training, and have enabled women to participate in international political spaces such as UNPFII and the COP climate change negotiations.
In this event, Gloria will share about her fight to protect her territory in Ecuador, which consists of 400,000 hectares of the Amazon, where she has been defending the land against illegal logging, mining, and oil exploitation. She will also be sharing about the Sápara and their traditional practices, as well as leading a tobacco ceremony. Come ready to listen, learn, heal, and ask questions!
Suggested donation: $20; no one turned away for lack of funds.