At Nègès Mawon’s 8th festival, women question their absence in Haiti’s power structure | PHOTOS

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Overview:

The group Nègès Mawon launched the eighth version of its feminist pageant, held from July 17 to 19 in Pétion-Ville below the theme “Pouvwa” — “Energy,” encouraging ladies to mirror on their affect and position in Haiti’s political sphere.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Surrounded by vivid art work and a courtyard alive with efficiency, feminist collective Nègès Mawon launched the eighth version of its annual pageant on July 17 in Pétion-Ville below the theme “Pouvwa” — Haitian Creole for “Energy.” For 3 days, the pageant invited ladies throughout Haiti to mirror on their political and social affect, spotlighting the continued marginalization of ladies from decision-making areas.

Held on the Brazil Cultural Heart, the pageant fused artwork, theater and panel discussions to look at systemic inequalities and the boundaries conserving Haitian ladies away from energy. Performances embodied real-life struggles: ladies distributors threatened by gang violence, neighborhood leaders excluded from nationwide debates and on a regular basis residents navigating trauma in a collapsing state.

“The type of governance in Haiti does under no circumstances mirror the imaginative and prescient of society upheld by feminists,” one organizer, Micaëlle Charles, mentioned. “Insecurity has invaded even probably the most intimate areas of ladies—their very own our bodies.”

Panels tackled pressing questions, corresponding to:

  • Why is it so laborious for ladies in Haiti to entry energy?
  • What structural and social forces restrict their decision-making?
  • And the way can alliances assist feminist agendas acquire traction amid Haiti’s ongoing crises?

“Insecurity limits ladies’s entry to public areas and impacts their skill to earn cash. Madan Sara can not safely come to the capital to promote. Many are raped, robbed, or killed by gangs.”

Micaëlle Charles, a Nègès Mawon’s feminist pageant organizer

The pageant comes at a pivotal second, with elections and constitutional reform on the forefront of nationwide debates and as armed teams proceed to overhaul public area—forcing faculty closures, shuttering well being amenities and pushing ladies deeper into poverty and precarity.

“Insecurity limits ladies’s entry to public areas and impacts their skill to earn cash,” Charles mentioned. “Madan Sara can not safely come to the capital to promote. Many are raped, robbed, or killed by gangs.”

Regardless of these challenges, the pageant reaffirmed Nègès Mawon’s mission: making certain ladies’s rights and experiences stay central to shaping Haiti’s future.

The next are some photographs from the launch of the eighth version of the feminist pageant led by Nègès Mawon in Pétion-Ville: 

An artwork showing a woman washing leaves in a basin, part of a performance piece that highlights the festival’s message supporting women’s rights and participation in Haiti, was displayed during the launch of the 8th edition of the Nègès Mawon festival under the theme “Pouvwa,” at the Brazil Cultural Center in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
An art work exhibiting a girl washing leaves in a basin, a part of a efficiency piece that highlights the pageant’s message supporting ladies’s rights and participation in Haiti, was displayed in the course of the launch of the eighth version of the Nègès Mawon pageant below the theme “Pouvwa,” on the Brazil Cultural Heart in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
A scene from the visual performance announcing the festival, performed by volunteers from the organization Nègès Mawon, was staged in the middle of the audience in the courtyard of the Brazil Cultural Center during the launch of the 8th edition of the festival under the theme “Pouvwa,” in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
A scene from the visible efficiency asserting the pageant, carried out by volunteers from the group Nègès Mawon, was staged in the midst of the viewers within the courtyard of the Brazil Cultural Heart in the course of the launch of the eighth version of the pageant below the theme “Pouvwa,” in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
An audience of young and older people, both Haitians and foreigners, attended the launch of the 8th edition of the Nègès Mawon festival, held under the theme “Pouvwa,” at the Brazil Cultural Center in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
An viewers of younger and older individuals, each Haitians and foreigners, attended the launch of the eighth version of the Nègès Mawon pageant, held below the theme “Pouvwa,” on the Brazil Cultural Heart in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
From left to right: three members of the leadership team of the feminist organization Nègès Mawon — Naïma Andris, Gaëlle Bien-Aimé, and Micaëlle Charles — at the launch of the 8th edition of the Negès Mawon festival under the theme “Pouvwa,” held at the Brazil Cultural Center in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
From left to proper: three members of the management workforce of the feminist group Nègès Mawon — Naïma Andris, Gaëlle Bien-Aimé, and Micaëlle Charles — on the launch of the eighth version of the Negès Mawon pageant below the theme “Pouvwa,” held on the Brazil Cultural Heart in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
An artwork depicting a woman in a bathtub, surrounded by men and women watching her while others look away, was part of the performance piece Chyen Kreyòl by actress Agnès Noël — a work exploring the question “Feminist, why?” — showcased during the launch of the 8th edition of the Nègès Mawon festival under the theme “Pouvwa,” at the Brazil Cultural Center in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
An art work depicting a girl in a bath, surrounded by women and men watching her whereas others look away, was a part of the efficiency piece Chyen Kreyòl by actress Agnès Noël — a piece exploring the query “Feminist, why?” — showcased in the course of the launch of the eighth version of the Nègès Mawon pageant below the theme “Pouvwa,” on the Brazil Cultural Heart in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
A participant takes a photo of one of the artworks from a theater piece advocating for respect and equality for women, showcased during the launch of the 8th edition of the Nègès Mawon festival under the theme “Pouvwa,” at the Brazil Cultural Center in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
A participant takes a photograph of one of many artworks from a theater piece advocating for respect and equality for ladies, showcased in the course of the launch of the eighth version of the Nègès Mawon pageant below the theme “Pouvwa,” on the Brazil Cultural Heart in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
A scene from Adelina, presented as a visual tableau highlighting the abuse of girls within their families and in Haitian society, was displayed in the courtyard during the launch of the 8th edition of the Nègès Mawon festival under the theme “Pouvwa,” at the Brazil Cultural Center in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
A scene from Adelina, offered as a visible tableau highlighting the abuse of ladies inside their households and in Haitian society, was displayed within the courtyard in the course of the launch of the eighth version of the Nègès Mawon pageant below the theme “Pouvwa,” on the Brazil Cultural Heart in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.
Part of the audience stood in the courtyard of the Brazil Cultural Center during the launch of the 8th edition of the Nègès Mawon festival in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
A part of the viewers stood within the courtyard of the Brazil Cultural Heart in the course of the launch of the eighth version of the Nègès Mawon pageant in Pétion-Ville on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Picture by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Instances.

Key Soundbites from the organizers: 

  • “Systemic corruption and impunity plunge the nation into instability that ladies bear the brunt of.”
  • “Many ladies who acquire energy don’t prioritize ladies’s points. That’s why feminist watchdogs matter.”
  • “We have to be current at decision-making tables to advocate for rights and collective well-being.”
  • “This yr’s theme pushes us to ask: What sort of energy excludes ladies, peasants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and youth?”



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