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Panmela Castro

Latin America and the Caribbean Human Rights
Global Leadership Awards

As a young woman interested in art, Panmela Castro was drawn to graffiti and its power to convey a message. Living in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro as a young woman, Panmela became immersed in the city’s dynamic art scene and began to establish her reputation as a graffiti artist. Also known by her graffiti name, Anarkia, she fully embraces the transformative power of art, using her work to raise awareness about women’s rights and to draw attention to the pervasiveness of gender-based violence.

The Maria da Penha Law on Domestic Violence against Women, a law named after a woman who was so severely beaten by her husband that she was paralyzed for life, was enacted in Brazil in 2006. The law granted legal protection for women, giving them the tools they needed to combat violence against women. Panmela recognized this as an opportunity to combine to her love for graffiti and her passion for women’s rights. Through a network of women graffiti artists, Panmela began to raise awareness about the law in the favelas of Rio, where access to information is often limited. By using her art to teach women and girls about women’s rights,