Born: 24 October 1949, Guatemala
Died: 11 September 1990
Country most active: Guatemala
Also known as: Myrna Mack Chang
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Myrna Mack Chang was a respected Guatemalan anthropologist. Myrna Chang was stabbed to death in 1990 by members of the Guatemalan military due to her criticism of the government’s treatment of the indigenous Maya and human rights abuses.
Myrna Mack Chang was born in Barrio San Nicolás, southwest Guatemala. Her mother was Chinese, and her father was Mayan. Myrna studied anthropology at the University of Manchester and Durham University in the United Kingdom.
Back in Guatemala, Myrna conducted fieldwork among Maya communities, researching human rights violations against internally displaced people during the Civil War. She openly criticized the government for these actions. In 1991, she was stabbed outside her office in the capital city.
This event prompted her sister, Helen Beatriz Mack Chang, to pursue justice for the perpetrators. In 2004, the Guatemalan government admitted responsibility for Myrna’s death, marking a significant development in human rights cases.
She was assassinated outside her office in Guatemala City by an armed forces death squad (allegedly trained at the School of the Americas) because she had criticized the government for its human rights abuses of the indigenous communities. She was 40 years old.
Her sister, Helen Mack, pursued justice. They filed cases with human rights commissions and established the Fundación Myrna Mack in 1993.
In 2003, the court blamed the government for Myrna’s death. In 2004, the Guatemalan government admitted responsibility, compensating her family. Helen Mack’s courage earned her the Right Livelihood Award in 1992, and she continues her human rights work.