Biography
Hermelinda Tiburcio Cayetano, born in Yoloxochitl, Municipality of Tlacoachistlahuaca in the State of Guerrero, is a member of the Na savi (Mixteca) indigenous community. She is a psychologist whose work as a community organizer aims to put private and often taboo subjects, such as sexual and reproductive rights among indigenous communities, on the public agenda. Currently, she is working to bring attention to the issue of forced marriages among young girls and to promote economic empowerment among indigenous women in the Costa Chica and mountainous region of Guerrero. Tiburcio Cayetano has participated in numerous local, state, and national organizations, including the Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas, Kinal antzetik Guerrero A. C. and the Fondo Regional Na savi, and ran for President of her municipality. She has participated in various workshops, seminars, and professional courses on Human Rights, Agro-ecological Farming and Sustainable Regional Development, and Indigenous Rights and Culture. She has been awarded the National Prize of Indigenous Youth in 2000, the "Cuahutemoc" Indigenous Merit Prize in 2015 (Gro), and the Ponciano Arriaga Leija Prize for the Defense of Women’s Rights, granted by the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights of Mexico City, among others.