<i>Yakumama</i>  – how women’s movements link culture, science and legal strategies to protect rivers

Abstract This paper examines how women-led social movements in Quito, Ecuador address severe river contamination by combining cultural, scientific, and legal strategies. Drawing on data from the RIOS25 workshop – designed to extract and systematize the narratives and strategies of activists seeking legal personhood for highly polluted rivers under the Rights of Nature paradigm – we highlight values, challenges, and innovative actions. Participatory methods included personal storytelling, visual timelines, strategy mapping, and collective visioning, engaging women leaders ( yakumama – women water guardians) from four civil society organizations: Women for Water, River Spirit, San Pedro River Collective, and the Ravines Collective. Participants emphasized personal connection, memory, resistance, and hope. River Spirit used photography and symbolic weaving; the San Pedro Collective leveraged social media, art, and local ordinances; Women for Water pursued constitutional reforms and litigation; and the Ravines Collective transformed victims into activists through education and legal action. Findings reveal that restoring rivers demands integrating culture, science, political advocacy, and law – respecting rivers as living entities to break the polluter/victim cycle.