With Merlet, Anne Marie Coriolan, 53, served as a top adviser to the women's rights ministry.

CNN: Women's movement mourns death of 3 Haitian leaders

"She was very bold, " said Ensler, who at Merlet's insistence brought her play "The Vagina Monologues" to Haiti and helped establish safe houses for women in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien.

CNN: Women's movement mourns death of 3 Haitian leaders