BRC--J's WOMEN OF BURMA DAY 1998 Ce

[brelief@xxxxxxx]

Burmese Relief Center--Japan
Celebrates WOMEN OF BURMA DAY 1998
on Sunday, June 21
in Kashihara, Nara
>From 1 PM

________________________________
/                                                               /
/ Burma: Voices of Women in the Struggle /
/ Japan launch of this new bilingual book    /
/________________________________/
___________________________________
/                                                                   /
/  Launch of two new BRC-J campaigns        /
/       *       Stop Tours to Burma                    /
/       *       Drive-by Protest against Nisseki   /
/  (fliers in both English and Japanese for        /
/  these campaigns can be viewed and            /
/  downloaded from our homepage)               /
/__________________________________/

June 19 is Aung San Suu Kyi's fifty-third birthday.  She remains under quasi
house arrest in Rangoon.  In cooperation with pro-democracy groups around
the world we will be showing a three-minute video greeting from Daw Suu
herself filmed for the occasion. 

For Burmese Relief Center?Japan members, this will be a working weekend,
focusing on: 

	(1) strategies to stop tours to Burma 
	(2) the campaign against Nippon Oil and the Yetagun pipeline
	(3) fund-raising projects
	(4) translations of videos and books into Japanese
	(5) activities for summer and fall

BRC-J will also be feting Dorothy Pedtke, who will be leaving Japan, with a
special tribute. Dorothy has been an activist and friend of Southeast Asian
refugees, Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao, and Burmese for over fifteen years. 

A special collection will be taken to support the activities of the Burma
Women's Union.

For more information, please contact:
Burmese Relief Center?Japan
266-27 Ozuku-cho, Kashihara, Nara 634-0846, Japan
Tel: (0744) 22-8236 ? Fax: (0744) 24-6254
e-mail:brelief@xxxxxxx

About Women of Burma Day

June 19th marks Women of Burma Day and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday.
Last year, Women of Burma Day was initiated to increase the profile of women
from all ethnic backgrounds in Burma's struggle for peace, democracy and
human rights. 

Women of Burma Day provides an opportunity to express support for and
solidarity with millions of sometimes invisible women who not only
participate directly in the movement, but also support the involvement of
family members, colleagues and friends in the movement.

Women of Burma Day also stresses to women's groups throughout the world that
the situation in Burma is a matter of grave concern for ALL women.  

To mark Women of Burma Day, Burmese Relief Center?Japan is presenting
Altsean-Burma's  new bilingual book (English & Burmese) Burma: Voices of
Women in The Struggle. The book features articles by women inside Burma,
along the border and in exile, including a foreword by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

About Burma: Voices of Women in the Struggle

Altsean-Burma's new publication, is a compilation of articles, poems and
stories written by women from different ethnic backgrounds in Burma, with a
foreword by Aung San Suu Kyi. While some of the contributions were written,
significantly, inside Burma, many others were written by women in exile.

The collection is a concerted effort to being the voices of women of various
ethnic, religious and political persuasions in Burma into a single volume.

The collection was assembled for two main purposes. Firstly, to educate both
men and women of the experience, visions and hopes of women involved in the
movement to free Burma. The second main purpose is one of empowerment. We
hope the book will encourage more women of Burma to play more visibly in the
wider struggle for democracy, in direct protest of the many political,
social and cultural obstacles placed in their way. The articles themselves
express a deep commitment to securing a future for Burma in which women,
young and old, will be able to actively participate.

The visions of women in the struggle are the foundations on which a new
democratic and just society must be built. 

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK

"... we want a democracy in which we can exercise our women's rights...we
may be asked which movement is more important at present, democracy or
women's rights. The answer to this question must be both- for those
especially living inside Burma who have never heard of the term women's
rights', and for those who are not very clear about the meaning of
democracy- There can be no real democracy without recognition of women's
rights."
  -Nang Lao Liang Won, "What Does Democracy Mean to Us- Burmese Women?" 

"To the women of Burma themselves I would like to send a message of
solidarity. Together, in full knowledge of both our strengths and
weaknesses, we can contribute towards the building of a nation that is a
safe and happy home for its peoples. Together we can overcome the troubles
of today and create a happier tomorrow for ourselves and our fellow human
beings."
  -Aung San Suu Kyi, Foreword, "Women of Burma"

"The increasing number of women joining the workforce in developing
countries is considered a good sign, many people arguing that the
development of such countries improves women's status. But in the case of
Burma, the increase in number of women in the work force is merely the
result of the country's poverty.
  -Konmari, "The Status of Burmese Women: A Comparative Essay"

"The struggle for women's rights which have been demanded now for more than
a hundred years, will last for more than a hundred years to come. (History
can provide)  us with the best strength for our future struggle. Let there
be peace in the world, created by the hands of women, rocking the cradles of
babes."
  -Ma Thida, "A History of International Women's Day"

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