Myriam Merlet

Myriam Merlet (October 14, 1956 – January 12, 2010) was a political activist, scholar and economist who served as Chief of Staff of Haiti's Ministry for Gender and the Rights of Women (Ministère a la Condition Feminine et aux Droits des Femmes (MCFDF)), from 2006 to 2008. One of the particular focuses of her work was on how rape and rape culture is used as a political weapon, and was not considered a criminal offense in Haiti until 2005.

Early life Merlet was born in Les Cayes, Haiti. Merlet was the second youngest of six siblings: an older brother and four sisters.

In the 1970s, Merlet left Haiti, growing up in France and Italy.

In 1975, Merlet moved to Montreal, Canada, where she lived for eleven years.

Career In July 1986, six months after the end of the Jean-Claude Duvalier dictatorship, Merlet returned to Haiti at the age of 29. She wrote a personal essay entitled "The More People Dream" in the collection Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance, where she described her struggles for identity as a Haitian woman living in exile and her desire and decision to be part of the solution, which was part of her motivation to return to Haiti.

In 2001 Merlet reached out to Eve Ensler in an effort to bring The Vagina Monologues to Haiti.

Vagina Monologue founder, Eve Ensler, wrote a 2011 spotlight monologue entitled "Myriam" as a tribute and rallying cry to the work that Myriam accomplished in Haiti. The monologue describes how Eve called her friend's cellphone, "believing the ring would find you and wake you, your cell gripped in your buried hand."

Merlet participated in the creation and was a longtime spokeswoman for the Coordination Nationale pour le Plaidoyer des Femmes (CONAP), for which she famously battled against sexism in the publicity industry, especially on billboards.

Merlet also played a key role, with other Haitian feminists and members of the government, in helping change the Haitian legal status of rape. Until a new law was pass in 2005, rape was not considered a crime in Haiti, but a public decency offence.

From 2006 to 2008, Merlet was Chief of Staff of Haiti's Ministry for Gender and the Rights of Women (Ministère a la Condition Feminine et aux Droits des Femmes (MCFDF)), and continued as an advisor until her death in 2010.

Merlet also led a campaign to name streets after famous Haitian women. After the earthquake, it was reported that she was able to respond and ask for help via mobile phone but rescue was unsuccessful. She was later found trapped in the collapse of her home.

Works and publications Chronological by publication

Papers Agir sur la Condition Féminine pour améliorer les situations des femmes (with Danièle Magloire) in Cahiers # 8 Conférence Haïtienne des Religieux-euses: Homme et Femme Dieu les créa, du féminisme au partenariat

Open letters Forces vives d’Haiti décrétent le Gouvernement Lavalas hors la loi Un Antiféminisme Haïtien ? Ou questionnements sur la volonté d’anéantir une pensée Riche et Porteuse