Ecofeminism is defined by the antagonism against an oppressive, capitalist system. It is taking a stance for life; it is a chance for humanity to make heard the voices of all beings on this planet because they crave justice, too.

Ecofeminism is about understanding the concept of our existence on this planet: we exist as one, and we are all in it together. It is about understanding that the hierarchal divide between human and non-human beings has been a construct of capitalist ideologies.

Being born in El Salvador, a small country in Central America where I spent seven years of my life, I was born into a politically drained and financially unstable world. It was a place where gang violence overtook the nation, and political corruption defined it.

I witnessed the oppression and slow, steady violence against my mother as she would wake up every morning to work in a nearby factory owned by wealthy foreign businessmen. I witnessed the plants and vegetables and fruits in my grandparent’s field slowly die out. I didn’t understand back then that my mother was a victim of a capitalist society and we were limited, that my grandparent’s fields were dead because of a drought and that that was the reason why my grandfather was forced to work in that factory, too.

17 years ago, I was only a child with no understanding of the reality around me, with no hope that it would ever change or that it would fuel my drive someday to become a lawyer. It is through my experiences and my deepest passions inspired by strong, powerful women that my drive for human rights law stems from, and all the kind, beautiful faces I have been so fortunate to meet in my volunteer experiences that have helped me define ecofeminism.

I take this opportunity to write about the stories that have enlightened my path, inspired me, and driven me to imagine a better world. These are the stories of warriors, who have fought against the ruthless, militarized violence of their societies, who have taken a stance against patriarchy, and who continue to fight a war they never asked for.

To me, ecofeminism has the face of my grandmother Orbelina, a fearless woman raised in the repression of an alcoholic, abusive father and a submissive mother, and in the realm of political chaos in El Salvador. I call her "warrior" because she has not only defined strength for me by surviving a ruthless civil war while raising four children in the midst of it, she has helped define ecofeminism as an act of bravery.

At the age of seven, her father told her she was not allowed to go to school anymore; as the oldest of five, it was her duty to help her father in the fields, farming. At 15, she was forced to marry a wealthy man nearly twice her age in order to get her family out of poverty.

At 17, she had her first child and a year after that, she had her second. At 21, she escaped the oppressive environment she was compelled to, escaping an abusive man who only saw her as a form of possession. She ran off to the city of San Salvador, where she met my grandfather and started over with her kids.

However, as she began to build a new life, civil war broke out in the country and she was forced to move within the country multiple times escaping bombings, and being killed by the Salvadoran army. As the war lasted 12 years, her eyes had witnessed more violence and fear than I could ever comprehend in my lifetime and although her story has helped me define ecofeminism, it is not the idea of her story being unique that drives me to connect her to my definition of ecofeminism.

Instead, it is the notion that she represents women of her time who shared similar experiences, and that perhaps never lived to tell their stories of war and chaos. She represents women around the world today who are caught in the middle of the complex pursuit of political and economic interests of war. At 67, she uses her wisdom to empower women in her church. She has used her negative, violent experiences to inspire young women like me to never allow a lousy patriarchal system to take your voice, to determine your future.

Ecofeminism has the face of Jesus, a seven-year-old Honduran boy I met on my first volunteer trip to Honduras. I call him "warrior" for maintaining his innocent, beautiful energy through all the chaos in the world around him. Growing up in a place like Honduras, where kids his age are easy targets for gangs, and where poverty has become an endless tunnel made up of political violence and injustice, Jesus has been forced into labor.

The growing inequality and political realm in his country have placed boundaries and limitations on him that he still hasn’t come around to understand. However, he knows nothing about politics or the reasons behind this war given to him to fight. All he knows is that he cannot join his friends in school anymore because instead, he must work cleaning buses for a bus company during school hours.

All he knows is how to play ball with his friends in the afternoons, and how to dream of becoming a teacher someday, how to tell funny jokes and how to do his silly dance. As he searches for worms and cool insects in the dirt beneath his feet, the toxic of the polluted ground invade his body, but there’s no one to notice. All he knows is that the river near his house makes a great swimming pool on hot summer days, and it is where he gets his drinking water from, yet it is also the place where bacteria and parasites live, but there is no one there to patrol that.

He was very happy that we were building a school in his neighborhood; he said, “It would allow more kids to go to school and be teachers.” However, because of the extreme poverty his family lives under, he was unable to attend school last year.

After getting in contact with his mother a couple of months ago, I found out that he is back in school for this year. As Jesus is a victim of a capitalist, politically corrupt system, he represents the many other children who are bound by poverty and victims of the political violence that surrounds them. Although, the best thing about Jesus is that he smiles so fearlessly at the world around him; he may not understand the violence that overtakes his nation yet, but I believe that he is the hero of his story with the potential to change his world someday.

Ecofeminism has the face of Berta Caceres, a Honduran indigenous and activist leader who fought against a capitalist society. I call her "warrior" for fearlessly taking a stance for women and nature under the rule of a patriarchal nation. Her voice gave voice to many other women living in the same repressive circumstances she did.

Her story begins in a politically corrupt system, where activism was criminalized after a military coup in 2009 in Honduras. She began to speak out for the rights of indigenous tribes, women, and the land. She inspired women to raise their voice along with her against the oppressing forces of her country. She protected the rivers sacred to her tribe, and the forests.

In the midst of political conflict, gang violence, and climate change effects, she held marches in the country’s biggest city to attract attention from policymakers. However, she received many death threats and in March of 2016, she was gunned down in her home by military troops.

Her story of bravery has inspired me so much, and it has helped me put ecofeminism into perspective. Her voice gave voice to all beings of the planet as she rose up with power and confidence; she inspired women to not be afraid. Her drive and passion to fight for those whose rights have been stolen are what makes her a hero.

Although she died, her death did not go unnoticed. Instead, she inspired women cross-culturally to stand up for what they believe in.