Photo: ISHR
Human rights defender's story: Cressida Kuala from Papua New Guinea
'When we feel the impact of the loss and damages of the environment that we belong to, that's the only source of our strength for doing our subsistance farming and produce food for the family,' says Cressida Kuala.
Cressida Kuala lives in a small gold mining town in the Highlands Region of Porgera District in the Enga Province of Papua New Guinea. In 2011, Cressida founded the Porgera Red Wara (River) Women’s Association, and she started speaking out about issues such as environmental degradation, chemical waste, pollution, expropriation of land, and the impact on the local community.
Cressida participated in the Women Human Rights Defender Advocacy Week in October 2025.
Watch Cressida’s story below: