Anna Pinto has worked for over 18 years in Bihar, Manipur and the North East Region in India mobilizing around women’s and children’s rights, and community rights and responsibilities in sustainable management of water and land.  Anna has written a number of papers and has developed innovative methods for raising community awareness through audio-visual and interactive media and skill building trainings. 

Anna has also worked with indigenous communities throughout India focusing on the vital role of indigenous peoples and communities in sustainable development. She is a member of the Meitei Nation and on the trusteeship of cultural heritage and in peaceful cooperation among peoples in achieving environmental justice and correcting past injustices. Anna also has significant experience in international, regional and national level strategy and policy debates and discussions, and has also worked at the level of the United Nations and some its specialized agencies in advocating for indigenous peoples’ rights. She is a recipient of the prestigious international Silver Banner award from the government of Tuscany, Italy for her work, in 2004.

Anna’s impact in her community

Anna is a recognized leader in initiating and building alliances and networks with women and children of neighbouring communities and government and international organizations. She also has a wide range of close contacts and relations with other women’s community groups and organisations in her region and internationally.

“Anna has represented our people and other indigenous peoples of our region for many years in many strategy building initiatives. Through her work in our communities, many of the women’s groups have become effectively involved in local advocacy, enhanced their role of local leadership and governance. Much of this work among community organisations is supported by training materials and tools that Anna has primarily designed.” (Anna's nominator)

Ana's vision for strengthening the efforts of grassroots women working to protect the environment

"I have worked with traditional indigenous women’s groups for over 20 years to assess and understand their position, concerns and aspirations regarding their rights to land and water vis-à-vis a rapidly changing, frequently conflicting and sometimes violent legal economic and social context, including that of armed conflict, participated in protests and campaigns, developed position statements and analytical papers in collaboration with them to ensure that our collective voices and concerns reach beyond our own immediately accessible circles."

In what ways have you taken leadership in your community? In what ways do you support other women working alongside you?

“I have supported and facilitated the effective participation of indigenous women in national, regional and international forums through working with them on building their skills and capacities to represent themselves, organising financial and other logistical support, assisting position development through traditional mechanisms and information dissemination and where necessary by introducing consensually accepted variations to these, by supporting the organisation of protests and campaigns and disseminating their issues and impacts at UN, international and other forums as appropriate and feasible given our limited financial and human resource capacity. 

I have also worked with these groups as a member, ally and partner to mediate differences to a common understanding and compromise where necessary, to support the forging of alliances on specific issues and to ensure that the position and activities of my own organisation is uniformly gender sensitive and sensitive to the various ethnic and other groups in this region and to indigenous worldwide.

What tools or programs do you envision as needed to strengthen the efforts of grassroots women working to protect the environment?

"Women need information capsules and toolkits in local languages that are sensitive to cultures and peoples with a low priority on literacy as a skill but who have substantial oral and visual comprehension, retention and communications skills. Women need access to equipment and skills for innovative video documentation and communication programmes. They also need strengthened skills in advocacy, campaign management and electronic media.

I am a member of Meira Paibi, a traditional women’s organisation of the Meitei people working on various rights issues including civil, political and social concerns. I have also worked with Naga Women’s Union Manipur, a women’s leadership group of the Naga People in Manipur, Kuki Women’s Organisation, and Nupi Keithel Association (Association of Market Women in Manipur) facilitating participation and representation in national and international forums by sharing information, skill sharing, and resource sharing."