Among the thousands lost following the devastating earthquake that struck Port Au Prince on January 12 are three renowned women’s rights activists, Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin, and Anne Marie Coriolan. These women, CNN reports, were “founders of three of the country’s most important advocacy organizations working on behalf of women and girls.” Their deaths leave the women’s movement in Haiti in mourning for three remarkable advocates who devoted themselves to furthering women’s rights in their nation.

Myriam Merlet was a published author and dedicated advocate who was “committed to the process of social and political change in Haiti,” according to V-Day, the anti-violence organization founded by Eve Ensler. Merlet worked to introduce the V-Day movement to Haiti, courageously shining a light on gender-based violence and promoting equality for women and girls. As founder of Enfofamn, Merlet raised awareness about women through the media, documenting their stories. She will be remembered for her tireless spirit, poignantly captured in her own words:

“I look at things through the eyes of women, very conscious of the roles, limitations, and stereotypes imposed on us. Everything I do is informed by that consciousness. So I want to get to a different concept and application of power than the one that keeps women from attaining their full potential…The basis of my work with women is to open them up to other things, give them new tools, give them new capabilities…give women the opportunity to grow…”

Magalie Marcelin was an actress and lawyer who founded Kay Famn, a women’s rights organization that provides shelter and offers microloan services to survivors of domestic violence. Marcelin was passionate in her work as an advocate, calling attention to the inequality and prejudice that women face daily in her community. In public awareness-raising campaigns, stickers are marked with the image of a drum, which Marcelin once explained:

“It’s very symbolic in the Haitian cultural imagination. The sound of the drum is the sound of freedom, it’s the sound of slaves breaking with slavery.”

Ann Marie Coriolan served as a top advisor to Haiti’s Ministry for Gender and the Rights of Women and founded advocacy organization Solidarite Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with Haitian Women SOFA). As a political organizer, Coriolan was a leader in a movement that “helped bring rape…to the forefront of Haitian courts,” according to CNN. Before her efforts, and those of fellow women’s activists, rape was regarded only as a “crime of passion” in Haiti. Coriolan’s daughter, Wani Thelusmon Coriolan, said of her mother:

“She loved her country. She never stopped believing in Haiti. She said that when you have a dream you have to fight for it. She wanted women to have equal rights. She wanted women to hold their heads high.”

Women’s movement mourns death of 3 Haitian leaders