“What does it mean to be a woman to you?” We heard from several Indigenous women speaking from very different contexts, but the similarities in their stories caught the attention of the Meli Team, as Carol discusses in the text below.

Author: Ana Carolina Cavalcanti
Leia em Português

On International Women’s Day, we started with a simple gesture: listening.

Beginning with the question “What does it mean to be a woman to you?”, we invited leaders from our network to share their perspectives. Their responses gave rise to the post “A network built by powerful women.”

Amid diverse life stories, a common thread emerged: the idea of strength and care.

As Women’s Month comes to a close, we return to these testimonials to understand what this recurring theme reveals.

The testimonials speak of a strength that comes from concrete experiences:

“To remain strong in the face of difficulties, suffering, pain, and challenges.”

Cruwakwyj (Krahô, Brasil)

“Despite our sorrows, we remain assertive and seek solutions. Being a woman means seeking solutions for the well-being of everyone.”

Karla (Xochimilco, México)

“It’s about staying strong and not letting yourself get discouraged, always reminding yourself: tomorrow is another day. And even if that tomorrow never comes, you must still persevere.”

Cacica Joana (povo Kokama, Brasil)

Even in different territories and contexts, the same idea emerges: we must carry on, respond, and persevere—for ourselves, for others, and for the collective. Here, strength is not “merely” resistance; it is also action in the face of circumstances that do not always allow for choice.

Care emerges alongside this strength, as part of it.

In these accounts, caring means maintaining continuity.
It means persevering into the next day, even when it is uncertain.

When this idea is repeated in different voices, it obviously transcends the individual sphere.

The testimonies do not speak only of who these women are. They reveal something that cuts across “being a woman” in different contexts, and this repetition points to conditions that are reproduced.

Simply celebrating strength is not enough.

In Brazil, rates of violence against women remain high. For Indigenous women, this reality is compounded by other forms of violence and invisibility.

We must go beyond valuing strength. We must ask what sustains this constant demand for resistance.

The accounts can be read as inspiration, but also as a warning. Perhaps the main invitation is this:
To recognize strength, while continuing to question why it is necessary and what needs to change so that life does not depend on it all the time.