Nobel Women's Initiative - Home
Join Us Donate
  • Home
  • Who We Are

    Since 2006 we have worked in solidarity with women's movements, organizations, and activists around the world to build peace, defend justice, and champion equality for all.
    • The Laureates

      • Rigoberta Menchú Tum
      • Jody Williams
      • Shirin Ebadi
      • Leymah Gbowee
      • Tawakkol Karman
      • Maria Ressa
      • Narges Mohammadi
      • Oleksandra Matviichuk
    • The Board

      • Profiles
    • Supporters

      • Individual and institutional donors
    • Staff

      • Profiles
  • What We Do

    Nobel Women's Initiative delivers programs, events, training, mentorship, advocacy and campaigns.
    • Areas of Work

      • Influencing Change
      • Shifting the Narrative
      • Leading Peace Together
    • News & Information

      • Press releases and Statements
      • Annual & Thematic Reports
      • Blog
  • Our Approach

    This is why and how we work to increase the visibility of women striving for peace, justice and equality.
    • About Us

      • Vision, Mission, Feminist Principles
      • Highlights of our Work
      • History & Background
    • What's Our Approach?

      • Transition and Renewal
      • Strategic Directions 2023-2027
  • Get Involved

    Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on opportunities to join us in our work.
      • Donate
    • Work With Us

      • Jobs
Join Us Donate
  1. Shifting the Narrative
  2. 16 Days of Activism
  3. Meet Helen Mack, Guatemala

Meet Helen Mack, Guatemala

Helen is the founder and president of the Myrna Mack Foundation, an organization dedicated to challenging the culture of impunity within the Guatemalan military and seeking justice for survivors of human rights abuses.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Meet Helen Mack, Guatemala

A businesswoman by trade, Helen was transformed into a leading human rights and judicial reform activist following the government-ordered assassination of her sister, Myrna Mack, in 1990. Authorities reported Myrna’s cause of death as a traffic accident. However given Myrna’s human rights activism and open criticism of the Guatemalan government, Helen knew there was more to the story. She began to seek justice for her sister—and the countless other activists silenced by the government.

In 1991, Helen set legal precedent in Guatemala by initiating the first judicial process against high-ranking members of the Guatemalan Army. Three officials were charged with organizing the assassination of Myrna. More than a decade later, Helen achieved a groundbreaking victory. The Guatemalan government acknowledged responsibility for Myrna’s death and the court convicted the primary author of the crime.

Helen’s victory paved the way for those trying to bring justice for victims of Guatemala’s genocide in the 1980s. Many of those killed were indigenous people. Earlier this year, former president Efrain Rios Montt was convicted of genocide and sentenced to 80 years in prison. The trial included the testimony of many brave indigenous women who lost family members and were sexually assaulted. Justice faced a setback shortly after the verdict was delivered; Rios Montt’s sentence was annulled. The trial is expected to resume anew in 2015.

Despite the frustration of this setback, Helen remains hopeful that the indigenous people’s voices will be heard, and justice will be served. Helen—along with other courageous human rights defenders in Guatemala—is determined to reform Guatemala’s corrupt system into a fair and just one.

Helen has received several significant recognitions for her work, including the Right Livelihood Award in 1992, The Notre Dame Award by Public Service in Latin America in 2005 and the Human Rights Award from the King of Spain in 2006.

LEARN MORE

Visit the Myrna Mack Foundation website.

Read more about the Rios Montt genocide trial in Guatemala.

Take part in documenting the collective history of the genocide by contributing to Granito: Every Memory Matters.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

16 Days of Activism

November 25, 2022

Afrah Nassar: "Believe that you are worth listening to."

November 25, 2022

Jamila Afghani: “We should extend hands of support to each other."

November 25, 2022

Mèaza Gidey Gebremedhin: “I always need to fight for myself, for my place in this world, and to help others.”

November 25, 2022

A Q&A with democracy activist Khin Ohmar: "I feel at peace knowing there is a young generation fighting for their rights."

November 25, 2022

Amira Osman Hamed: "Don't let them terrify you."

November 25, 2022

Lubna Alkanawati: "What's really helped me to survive is the women's network around me."

November 25, 2022

Nina Potarska, Anna Chernova and Oksana Senyk: "Family peace is a small piece of peacebuilding."

November 25, 2022

Nadia Murad: "We don't get anywhere by pacifying with politeness."

December 10, 2021

Manal Shqair: I’m always fighting every day for my existence as a woman (Palestine)

December 9, 2021

Ounaysa Arabi: Knowledge is power and we have a good inheritance from feminists around the world (Sudan)

December 9, 2021

Ilaf Nasreldin: We as women deserve to live a better life (Sudan)

December 8, 2021

Musu Diamond Kamara: When one woman is affronted, all of us are affronted (Liberia)

More — 16 Days of Activism

Nobel Women's Initiative

Contact Information

General Inquiries
Email:
261 Montreal Rd, Suite 310
Ottawa, ON K1L 8C7
Media Inquiries
Daina Ruduša
Email:

Join Us

  • Join us
  • Donate
  • Event Registration Fee

Social media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Subscribe


© 2025 Nobel Women's Initiative

Sign in to control panel Created with NationBuilder Built by Progressive Nation
Loading…