Women's rights
Individual Documents
Description:
"Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) urges the general public to join our campaign against military impunity. WLB is committed to ending a nationwide pattern of sexual violence
in conflict and to holding military junta accountable for sexual violence in conflict. For over seven decades, the Burmese military has waged war in the ethnic states of Burma/Myanmar. Their use of systematic and widespread violence includes using rape as a weapon of war. WLB has consistently condemned this crime and has advocated
for effective action against the Burmese military through international justice and accountability mechanisms.
Since the Burmese military forcibly seized power on Feb 1, 2021, they have cracked down on the peaceful movement by arresting, detaining, torturing innocent civilians, and even killing protesters. In addition, there is strong evidence claiming that the Burmese
military has been intentionally committing sexual war crimes in ethnic war-torn areas for many years. The current junta security forces are committing widespread acts of sexual violence against detained women. Therefore, on the occasion o f the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we, the Women’s League of Burma, call for the following: - Immediately send international missions, including the United Nations, to monitor
and intervene to end arbitrary arrests, torture, killing and Sexual violence by the Burmese military, including the current state administration council.
- Refer the State Administration Council officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or similar international tribunal to bring justice for survivors and to end sexual
violence in conflict and the killing and arrest of peaceful protesters. The military must be held accountable for their atrocity crimes..."
Source/publisher:
Women's League of Burma
Date of publication:
2021-06-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific, Human Rights and international relations
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Description:
On this International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we call for an immediate end
to sexual assaults on women and men of all ethnic groups, and for accountability for the Myanmar
military.
The Tatmadaw's repression of the anti-coup movement shows that sexual and gender-based violence
continues to be used by the junta as a brutal tool to intimidate and maintain their power and control.
Myanmar women are defiant and play a leading role in the protests and in the resistance movement.
While doing so, they are defying Burmese patriarchal traditional social norms and creatively challenging
gender stereotypes. As the Women's League of Burma (WLB) highlighted, "with over 60 percent of women
leading the protests, they are fearlessly putting themselves in the direct line o f defense".
Women bear the brunt of the violence, often through sexual violence. Reports indicate that members of
security forces have manhandled, groped, and verbally and sexually harassed female protesters. In some
instances, they forced women to dance in the street for their entertainment, or pressured women for sex
in exchange for ensuring that their names are removed from warrant lists. Particularly concerning is the
differential treatment of women during interrogation and detention, in the form of sexual and genderbased
violence, sexism and misogyny. There are reports of sexual abuses behind bars, including beatings
on genitals and sexual threats. As recently highlighted by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SACM),
a group of independent international experts, "sexual and gender-based violence remains a brutal
strategy employed by the junta to terrorise and punish the civilian population".
The use by the military of sexual violence as a weapon of war and oppression is nothing new; this strategy
has been used against ethnic minorities for decades. In its reports to the United Nations Human Rights
Council, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar ("FFM") concluded that "rape
and other sexual violence have been a particularly egregious and recurrent feature of the targeting of the
civilian population in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States since 2011". The FFM found that "sexual and
gender-based violence was a hallmark o f the Tatmadaw"s operations in northern Myanmar and in
Rakhine" and that it was part of a deliberate, well-planned strategy to intimidate, terrorize and punish
civilian populations.
Indeed, civil society groups have long documented and denounced the use of sexual violence as a tactic
to hurt and humiliate girls and women, and men, from all ethnic communities. Depending on the
circumstances, sexual and gender-based violence may constitute crimes under international law,
including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. This unchecked pattern of using sexual and
gender-based violence as a tool of warfare must stop. Decades of impunity have emboldened the
Myanmar military to continue perpetrating these heinous crimes without any accountability. The time for
justice has come. The Myanmar military must stop using sexual violence in conflict and the perpetrators
must be held accountable..."
Source/publisher:
ASIA JUSTICE AND RIGHTS
Date of publication:
2021-06-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights
Language:
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Description:
"Today is International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The term “conflict-related sexual violence” refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion,
enforced sterilization, forced marriage and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. The term also encompasses trafficking in persons when committed in situations of conflict for the purpose of sexual violence or exploitation.
Sexual violence is often used deliberately as a weapon in armed conflicts; this holds true for the conflict in Myanmar. In the decades-long conflict with the Karen National Union, the Tatmadaw has
allowed its soldiers to commit sexual violence on civilians with impunity. Between January 2012 and November 2018, KHRG received 52 reports covering 27 cases of sexual violence, including seven
cases in 2018 alone.1 KHRG still receives reports of sexual violence cases as recent as 2019.2 Since the military coup on February 1, women and girls throughout the country are even more
vulnerable to sexual violence. Women and girls have been subjected to sexual violence and other forms of gendered harassment while being held in detention facilities. In particular, sexual violence
has been used by security forces, including members of the military, police and prison guard, when interrogating women and girls.3
The practice of impunity by the Tatmadaw is what has allowed such widespread sexual violence to occur. Perpetrators are rarely, if ever, held accountable for their crimes which encourages further
violations in the future. Most victims of conflict-related sexual violence still have not received justice and, in many cases, have not even had the chance to report on, or speak about what happened to
them. Sexual violence survivors should be given the opportunity to speak out, to receive remedy which includes physical and mental health support, and the means to reintegrate into society without any prejudice or discrimination. KHRG urges ethnic organizations to help the survivors receive the kind of support listed above.
The international community, including organizations with a mandate to investigate and/or to prosecute international crimes, must ensure that perpetrators in the past, present and future, are held
accountable for their crimes without any excuses. States must also place pressure on the Tatmadaw to stop the perpetration of sexual violence and ensure accountability within their ranks. Failing to
address and investigate abuses will only prove that the military and other security forces can continue to commit sexual violence with impunity..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2021-06-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
We call for the Myanmar authorities to immediately and unconditionally release filmmaker Ma Aeint.
Description:
"The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR*) and its founding institutions, the European Film Academy, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and International Film Festival Rotterdam, together with the undersigning, call for the Myanmar authorities to immediately and unconditionally release filmmaker Ma Aeint.
Ma Aeint was a producer and co-writer of MONEY HAS FOUR LEGS which ran in the New Currents competition at the 2020 Busan International Film Festival and is an alumna of FAMU Summer Filmmaking Initiation Campus, Locarno Open Doors Lab, as well as Ties That Bind.
Leaving her house on 5 June, she was detained and is currently being held in an undisclosed place, with no official explanation.
We are very concerned for the well-being of Ma Aeint. We encourage all film and culture institutions around the world to join us in calling upon the Myanmar authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her. If there are any charges against her, they must be made clear, though her safety must first be guaranteed.
Berlin International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival
Eurodoc
European Film Promotion
FAMU
FERA
Festival de Cannes
Festival des 3 Continents
FIFDH
FSE
German Film Academy
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Locarno Film Festival
MEMORY !
MOOOV
Morelia International Film Festival
Mostra de Cinema Àrab i Mediterrani de Catalunya
Movies that Matter
Quinzaine des réalisateurs Cannes
SEAFIC
Semaine de la Critique Cannes
Sicilia Queer filmfest
Sundance Institute
Swedish Union for Performing Arts and Film
Sydney Film Festival
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Udine Far East Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Visions du Réel..."
Source/publisher:
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk
Date of publication:
2021-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights and international relations, Women's rights
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Topic:
Women's Rights
Sub-title:
Few Toilets, No Menstrual Hygiene Supplies
Topic:
Women's Rights
Description:
"When “Mi Mi” (a pseudonym) prepared for anti-coup demonstrations in Yangon in late February, she carefully chose to wear a pair of jeans and sneakers so she could run from the abusive security forces. The last thing on her mind was to carry menstrual pads in case she was detained.
Myanmar’s police and military had begun to intensify crackdowns on protesters opposing the military’s February 1 power grab. As the security forces threw teargas onto the street and shot rubber bullets, she became disoriented, then trapped.
Seven male police officers beat and kicked her when she fell on the ground. “Once I was down, one of them kept me down while the others kicked me with their boots,” Mi Mi said. “Then they hauled me over to a police truck…One of them held my head back and another guy punched me very hard in the face.”
Mi Mi, 23, said the stress of the physical attack and arrest brought her menstrual period on early. Authorities eventually took her to Insein prison, the main detention facility, where she was held with more than 500 other women in facilities normally used for men. The women there had access to only two toilets with no water and no doors. Female prison guards repeatedly denied Mi Mi’s requests for sanitary pads until she bled heavily through her jeans. Finally, after 48 hours, they eventually gave her just one pad.
Mi Mi said the experience was humiliating and left her with trauma causing nightmares even after her release. She said the stigma in Myanmar about menstruation and degrading treatment of women made it difficult for her to speak more openly.
Female detainees have reported the “dehumanizing” experience of Myanmar prisons, explaining that they suffered during menstruation because prisons do not provide sanitary napkins. Since the coup, women have also reported sexual violence and other forms of gendered harassment and humiliation from police and military officials.
The lack of adequate toilets with running water and privacy, and insufficient menstrual hygiene supplies can constitute degrading treatment in violation of international human rights law. The Myanmar authorities should respect the right of women and girls to manage menstruation with dignity..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations, Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
It is women—teachers, factory workers, nurses, lawyers—who are again guiding people out of the darkness of military rule, Esther Wah writes
Description:
"Women across Myanmar have long taken leading roles protecting their villages, land, and forests. We continue to be marginalised, perceived as weak or incapable, but it is women who for generations have courageously led communities through periods of adversity.
The military coup on February 1 crushed the hopes and futures of people throughout the country, and we began a descent back into the nightmare of complete army control. It is hard to find the words to describe the pain we continue to suffer under the military’s domination.
But yet again we see women—teachers, garment factory workers, nurses, lawyers—leading the grassroots movement against the junta, standing at the forefront of demonstrations, organising communities, providing support and care for villages and neighbourhoods.
It is women who are again guiding people out of the darkness.
We have no choice. We know that authoritarian military patriarchal rule has grave implications for women throughout the country; the tyranny that the military imposes upon women’s bodies is unbearable. Rape and sexual assault have long been weaponised by Myanmar’s armed forces against populations in every ethnic state in the country. We have seen this pattern repeated since the coup, now in towns and cities where no one is safe travelling, sleeping or passing through checkpoints. Every act of daily life poses new dangers.
This is why we must stand up, we must fight, and we must win.
In their April briefing paper, the Women’s League of Burma reported that more than 800 women had been detained and more than 40 killed since the coup. From those who have been detained there have been reports of torture and grievous sexual violence by the regime’s troops.
Airstrikes and artillery shellings in Kachin, Karen and Kayah states have collectively displaced well over 100,000 people. Among them are pregnant women, children, and the elderly, languishing in squalid camps, hiding the jungle like animals, or, in the case of Karen State, stuck on the banks of the Salween River, unable to cross the border to Thailand.
“There is no more peace and security for women,” one human rights defender from Kachin State told me recently. She noted that the discrimination and gender-based violence of the past had worsened in the years prior to the coup, and that shootings and sexual assault perpetrated against women were common due to the civil war and Myanmar military occupation of Kachin lands.
Since the coup, this “culture of male violence,” as she described it, has intensified.
“It hurts a lot, and it is completely unacceptable. There is no rule of law, no protection—the law has been abolished by the military. The situation is hopeless,” she said.
Even as the any guarantee for our safety deteriorates, women continue to be at the forefront of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which aims to unseat the junta. Its main tool of resistance is a general strike, where people from across all sectors have refused to return to work until democracy is restored.
Much of the CDM campaign has been led by women-dominated industries, as workers sacrifice their wages and their physical safety for the future of the country. Participation in the CDM comes with the risk of arrest, torture and murder by the junta. It started early: in mid-February, two female teachers who had joined the CDM were beaten and arrested in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina.
Even after the military forced schools to open on June 1, more than half of the country’s 400,000 teachers have refused to work while the junta is in power. Most of those on strike are believed to be women. Teachers in the CDM have been temporarily or permanently suspended from their jobs, and more than 100 are facing criminal charges by the regime. Many no longer dare to live in cities and towns and have fled to rural areas, with some even hiding in the jungle.
One ethnic Karen teacher on strike in Tanintharyi told me she was not going back to work because she does not want to “live as a slave under the military dictatorship.”
“I do not want to be involved in any administrative machinery that will prolong the new military dictatorship. I do not want to pass on this slave education system to the new generation,” she explained as to why she continues her strike.
She is one of many women throughout the civil service who is sacrificing her own safety and livelihood for the benefit of future generations.
Women have also been integral in leading protests against the military, using the power of their own womanhood to destroy the army’s control. The htamein campaign—in which women’s sarongs were used as flags or strung up above roads in urban areas—showed how women’s clothing instilled fear among soldiers, who feared they would lose their masculine power if they passed underneath the clothes.
Images of Kachin nun Sister Rose Nu Tawng have been seen around the world, a symbol of compassion and courage. In the midst of a protest crackdown in Myitkyina in March, she was photographed on her knees with her arms outstretched, begging members of the junta’s armed forces to “shoot and kill [her]” instead of children. While the police paused the violence momentarily, they continued shooting at demonstrators only moments after the iconic photos were taken.
In ethnic areas, women have long taken leadership positions through periods of war and hardship. In Karen State, for example, there are many villages where it is women who serve as village heads. Because of the civil war and ongoing military oppression, men have been worried that they would face torture or murder if they took on the role of village head, leaving women to do the job instead. Women throughout the region have had to protect their communities from violent attacks and negotiate with the military when they came to their villages. Being on the frontlines is not new for us.
These leadership positions continued through periods of temporary ceasefire, as women in ethnic areas addressed ongoing persecution and led efforts to recover lands and forests that were confiscated by the military. Women-led organisations across the ethnic states have also played central roles in civil society movements, creating new platforms and spaces for women throughout the country to be heard.
Despite the prominent roles of women within emergent civic spaces, there had been little space for women to participate in official roles within government or the peace process prior to the coup. In the newly formed anti-coup National Unity Government, women make up around one-third of cabinet positions, a presence we have not seen in previous national administrations.
While Myanmar is a deeply conflicted society divided by ethnicity, gender, class, and generational differences, we see that the military’s power grab has united us: today we stand together against patriarchal and racist military control. Ethnic groups from the Karen to the Kachin to the Rohingya to the Burmese, from older generations to Gen Z, from women to men, from factory workers to doctors—we all stand against military oppression.
This revolution is for all of us, and in a new Myanmar, women, ethnic minorities, youth and the working class will take a leading role in shaping it. There is no going back, only forwards.
This revolution is ours, and we will defeat our common enemy.
Esther Wah is an indigenous Karen woman. She works with ethnic communities across Myanmar on their right to protect the land and forests..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-06-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Myanmar's security forces have been accused by Amnesty International of 'premeditated' attacks on peaceful protesters.
Former police and military figures explained what they were asked to do, and why they are now rebelling in secret against the military junta..."
Source/publisher:
"Sky News"
Date of publication:
2021-06-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights Defenders, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The world will have noted that women have been on the front lines of the revolution in Myanmar, with activists, elected officials, and journalists such as Ei Thinzar Maung, Thinzar Shunlei Yi, Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Daw Myo Aye, Naw K’nyaw Paw, and Tin Htet Paing playing significant roles.
Many have assumed that this is a newfound feminist ferocity, but from ancient Queen Pwa Saw, to the first woman surgeon Daw Saw Sa, who qualified in 1911, Myanmar women have always been as strong as, if not stronger than, our men. The sad truth is our cause was set back by over 60 years of brutal and misogynistic oppression by the Burmese military.
I spent last Tuesday reviewing evidence from a Myanmar women’s group for submission to the U.K. Foreign Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Myanmar crisis. Just reading about the atrocities committed by military forces meant I slept badly that night. Nearly 50 women have been killed in the protests so far, and around 800 women have been arrested. Sixty percent of the people involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement, a peaceful protest designed to shut down the country, are women, and they continue to face sexual violence, harassment, abuse, and threats from the junta. Many, including beloved film stars such as Paing Phyo Thu and May Toe Khine, have been charged under Section 505A of Myanmar Penal Code—a disproportionately punitive piece of legislation, and a hangover from colonial times that basically criminalizes freedom of speech. In prison, military forces have subjected women detainees to more violence, humiliation, and even torture.
A huge part of this is a horrific reflection of the misogyny—cloaked in patriarchy—that the military holds dear, having beaten it into the hearts and minds of the people of Myanmar. The military declares itself the father of the nation, but one that deems its female children as lesser human beings.
Before Myanmar, then called Burma, first fell to military dictatorship in 1962, its women enjoyed an unusual measure of freedom and power. In 1919, the first women’s association Konmari Athin, was formed; in 1932, Daw Hnin Mya was elected as the country’s first woman councillor; and in 1952, Claribel Ba Maung Chain became the first woman government minister. Burmese women kept their maiden names and property, they handled financial affairs, and voting rights were granted to them in 1922, only 4 years after women in the U.K. got the vote. Melford Spiro, the famous anthropologist, wrote: “Burmese women are not only among the freest in Asia, but until the relatively recent emancipation of women in the West, they enjoyed much greater freedom and equality with men than did Western women.”
Many successful businesses were owned by women, including the Naga Cigar Company founded by my great-aunt Naga Daw Oo and the Burmese Paper Mart, founded by my grandmother Daw Tin Tin, who was also a senior member of Upper Burma’s Chamber of Commerce. Another great-aunt was the famous dissident and writer Ludu Daw Amar, who founded the newspaper Ludu Daily. Shortly after the coup in 1962, all of their businesses, along with those of countless other women, were either shut down or requisitioned by the Myanmar military who were adamant that women should no longer have such power and influence.
The women’s liberation movement in the country was far from perfect. Even some of our most progressive women, such as author Daw MiMi Khaing, still saw men as spiritually superior, thanks to outdated religious views. But the movement was on the right track until it was derailed by the dictatorship. It then entered what writer Kyaw Zwa Moe referred to as a “feminine ‘dark age’”—an era in which the military and its hardline clerical supporters reinforced dogma for their own regressive agenda.
For example, every Burmese man is deemed to have hpone or glory. An ancient fable relates that men will lose their hpone if they walk under or come into contact with women’s sarongs (known as htamein) or undergarments; according to the military, this was because women are inferior or unclean. This is, however, a subversion of the original superstition which was that women are sexual temptresses; when I had my first period, I was told that I could no longer climb pagodas in case I toppled them with the might of my vagina, and that only men could ever be innocent enough to ascend to the highest plane of nirvana. This concept was just as sexist, but it at least recognized that women were powerful rather than pathetic.
Shortly after the February coup, Myanmar women gladly took advantage of these attitudes to use htamein as barricades against the military. Even the junta knew that it was being ridiculous: If you need any further evidence that the Myanmar military does not really believe that htamein are unclean, its members have been known to wear them at special events because their astrologers once told them that only a woman would rule Myanmar.
The idea of a woman being in charge was so loathsome to the military that when it came to pass, in the person of Aung San Suu Kyi, the generals banned people from saying her name or displaying her picture. During decades of its rule, the military not only sidelined women in terms of financial, cultural, and political power, even worse, they also brutalized them in war—especially women from minority groups like the Rakhine, Shan, Rohingya and Kachin—using campaigns of rape and other forms of violence and terror. It should come as no surprise that women fight alongside men in the ethnic armed organizations, whereas the Myanmar military has no women in its combatant ranks.
But the flames of female resistance never really died down in Myanmar, despite the military’s worst efforts. In 2007, there were notable women activists in Myanmar’s Saffron Revolution, including Nilar Thein, Phyu Phyu Thin, Mie Mie, Su Su Nway and Naw Ohn Hla. At the time, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimated that since the 1988 Uprising, which also saw many women take a prominent role, more than 500 Myanmar women had served prison terms because of their political activism. In 2015, Phyoe Phyoe Aung, general secretary of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, was one of the student leaders whose protest against the National Education Bill was violently suppressed by military police in Letpadan.
This time around, women activists such as Thinzar Shunlei Yi and Ester Ze Naw are again at the forefront, women lawyers such as Zar Li have been working day and night to ensure the release of detainees, and women journalists such as Naw Betty Han and Nyein Lay are risking arrest and injury to report on developments in Myanmar. Even the first death of a protester was that of a 19-year-old female, named Mya Thwe Thwe Khine.
Since Feb. 1, hundreds of thousands of other women have exchanged their work tools for daily protest marches. Medical workers, teachers, and garment workers are on strike and are all from sectors dominated by women. Tin Tin Wei and Moe Sandar Myint are, respectively, an organizer and the chairwoman of Myanmar’s Federation of Garment Workers, and have spoken out against the coup so vociferously that the latter has gone into hiding for her own safety.
The most promising sign of a much-needed return to gender equality in Myanmar is that the National Unity Government, made up of ousted lawmakers in hiding, has appointed several women ministers, including human rights advocate and former political prisoner Zin Mar Aung as minister for foreign affairs and Ei Thinzar Maung as deputy minister of women, youth and children’s affairs—the latter appointment being groundbreaking in more ways than one, as she is the youngest minister ever at the age of 26.
After decades of misogynistic and violent oppression by Myanmar’s military and its cronies, it finally looks like the women of Myanmar might be taking back everything that we lost and more. The Women’s League of Burma is an umbrella organization of 13 women’s groups, such as the Shan Women’s Action Network, who are working together to enhance the role of women of all backgrounds and ethnicities at a national and international level. A global, growing feminist movement called #Sisters2Sisters has even been set up, through which more than 80 civil society organizations are demanding an end to the violence against women in Myanmar and the immediate release of women human rights defenders..."
Source/publisher:
Time Magazine (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Burmese women's organisations, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
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Sub-title:
Junta troops burn houses and raid villages after military trucks passing through the Magwe Region township were struck by explosives on the same day
Description:
"Regime forces shot three people dead in Magwe Region’s Gangaw Township and set houses on fire at random during raids on three villages on Friday afternoon.
The crackdown on villagers was unleashed after military trucks passing through the township were struck by explosives on the same day.
One of the victims was Saw Min Hlaing Oo, a 33-year-old primary school teacher participating in the nationwide general strike against the coup regime; he was shot in the waist and the thigh. The two other casualties were men aged 50 and 33, but whose names were not known at the time of reporting.
A Gangaw local said he did not know why the houses—three in total—were burned down.
“Soldiers opened fire, aiming at the villages from a road. Many bullets landed in my village,” a local man told Myanmar Now, asking not to mention the names of the targeted villages out of fear of reprisal. “Bullets passed just over the heads of some people who were running from the gunshots. The whole village had to run.”
One woman was injured by a gunshot wound to the arm, and a woman in her 70s slipped down a hillside and broke one of her legs while fleeing the regime forces’ attack, the local added.
Villagers reportedly returned to their houses at around 5:30pm after the soldiers had left.
Residents of southern Sagaing Region’s Kani and Yinmabin townships, which border Magwe Region, have been resisting the junta rule with homemade guns and explosives since April.
In retaliation, the military raided several villages in those areas to crush the locals’ armed resistance, forcing more than 15,000 residents to flee to the forests to hide or to seek refuge in other towns..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Two other women who were shot during the raid by regime forces were among seven people taken into custody
Description:
"A 24-year-old woman was shot and killed in Magwe Region’s Salin Township on Tuesday night during a raid carried out in response to anti-coup graffiti.
About 70 soldiers and police stormed the village of Tawseint at around 7:30pm on Tuesday after residents painted slogans opposing the education system under the military regime on the gate of a local high school.
“They were firing non-stop, at least 90 or 100 rounds. I also had to flee,” said a villager who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
Seven people, including two women who had been shot while trying to escape, were arrested after the raid, he added.
Saung Hnin Hmon, the mother a six-year-old girl, was shot in the head and killed instantly. Her body was returned to the village the following day.
The whereabouts of her daughter, who went missing after the raid, remains unknown.
An elderly woman, a 13-year-old girl, and a disabled woman who tried to flee on one leg were also arrested, but were later released, according to a village resident.
Most of Tawseint’s roughly 2,000 residents have gone into hiding since the junta’s forces returned on Wednesday morning, local sources told Myanmar Now.
“Many people are still in the forest. Those who remained in the village don’t dare try to leave now, and those in the forest are afraid to return to their homes,” one source said.
“We have not had a grain of rice to eat the whole day. We are still hiding in the forest,” he added.
Tawseint is located near three military bases. Light infantry brigades 153, 254, and 255 are all stationed in the area.
At least 828 people have been killed by the regime since it seized power on February 1, according to a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
As resistance to the coup continues, more than half of the nation’s teachers are on strike and some 90% of students refuse to enroll under the regime’s education system, according to the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights Defenders, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Women's rights, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Family members say they have not been permitted to meet with Kay Zon Nway since her arrest in late February
Description:
"Relatives of a Myanmar Now journalist who has been in detention for nearly three months say they are growing increasingly worried about her well-being.
Kay Zon Nway, who was arrested in late February while reporting on an anti-coup protest in Yangon, has been charged with incitement under Section 505a of the Penal Code. She faces a three-year prison sentence if found guilty.
Family members say they have been denied permission to meet with her and are concerned that her health may be at risk due to harsh conditions inside Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, where she is being held.
“She has been suffering from nervous-system problems, so I am sure she has not been well,” said a relative who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
“I heard she is angry, distressed, and hurt because she believes she has not committed any crime,” the relative added, citing reports that the family has received from prisoners who met the reporter prior to their own release.
“She asked the released prisoners she met in jail to tell us that she could not sleep at night because of the heat and mosquitoes,” the relative said.
Kay Zon Nway previously shared a cell with several inmates, but she was separated from them late last month after she was accused of staging a hunger strike. According to her lawyer Nilar Khine, she was actually fasting for Ramadan.
She is currently being held in an 8’x12’ cell with one other female inmate.
Her family has been sending medication to help her deal with gastric and nervous ailments, the relative said.
No one in the family has seen her since March 12, when she appeared online briefly during a court hearing held via video link.
Her next hearing, which will be held at a prison court in Insein, is scheduled for June 3.
The plaintiff in the case is deputy police major Win Naing from the Sanchaung police station in Yangon. Testimony from witnesses for the prosecution will be presented at the hearing, her lawyer said.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 48 journalists are still in detention since being arrested in the wake of the military’s February 1 coup..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Defenders, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Women's rights, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The United Nations in Myanmar is alarmed by the humanitarian impact of ongoing violence in the town of Mindat in Chin State in western Myanmar, following reports of indiscriminate attacks by the security forces against civilians and resulting population displacement and civilian casualties.
Local sources indicated that close to 4,000 people have been internally displaced since the hostilities escalated in the town of Mindat on 12 May, with an unconfirmed number, believed to be in thousands, hiding in nearby forests and mountains in search of safety and protection. A higher number of civilians remain in Mindat as they were reportedly not allowed to leave during the height of the hostilities.
There are reports of houses and other civilian property damaged, destroyed or occupied by security forces. An unconfirmed number of men, women, and children have lost their lives or sustained injuries because of the violence. The United Nations is also concerned by reports about the security forces using civilians as human shields and incidents of sexual assault perpetrated against women and girls.
People who have already fled and others who remain are in urgent need of food, water, shelter, access to healthcare and gender-based violence and psychological support. The United Nations and humanitarian partners are making efforts to assess and address these needs; however, humanitarian access challenges, including due to insecurity and road blockages, are complicating these efforts.
The United Nations calls on security forces to urgently take all necessary measures and precautions to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to adhere to the fundamental principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality and protection.
We also call upon security forces to allow civilians who choose to leave areas of danger to do so without obstruction or delay, securing their safety, and to ensure that those who are injured are transferred to a medical facility situated in a safe area.
We urge everyone involved to facilitate the delivery of relief by the United Nations and all humanitarian partners to people fleeing the violence, those trapped in their homes and everyone affected, by ensuring safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
The United Nations reiterates its strong commitment to continue making all efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and protection services to people in need wherever they may be, guided by the internationally recognized principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.....မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အနောက်ဘက်ရှိ ချင်းပြည်နယ် မင်းတပ်မြို့တွင် လုံခြုံရေး တပ်ဖွဲ့များက အရပ်သားများအပေါ် ခွဲခြားမှုမရှိဘဲ တိုက်ခိုက်မှုကြောင့် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာထွက်ပြေးခြင်းများနှင့် အရပ်သားများထိခိုက်သေဆုံးမှုများ ရှိကြောင်းသိရှိရပါသည်။ ယင်းကဲ့သို့ ဆက်တိုက်ဖြစ်ပေါ်လျက်ရှိသော အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ၏ အကျိုးဆက်များ အပေါ် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာ ကုလသမဂ္ဂက စိုးရိမ်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
မေလ ၁၂ ရက်နေ့မှစ၍ မင်းတပ်မြို့တွင် ပစ်ခတ်မှုများအရှိန်မြင့်တက်လာရာမှ လူပေါင်း ၄,၀၀၀ ခန့် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာခဲ့ရသည်ဟု ဒေသခံများက သတင်းပေးပို့ခဲ့ပါသည်။ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာသူ အရေအတွက်ကို အတည်မပြုနိုင်သေးသော်လည်း ထောင်နှင့်ချီမည်ဟု ခန့်မှန်းထားပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့သည် အနီးအနားရှိ တောတောင်များထဲတွင် ဘေးရန်ကင်းပြီး အကာအကွယ်ရယူနိုင်ရန် ပုန်းခိုနေရလျက်ရှိပါသည်။ မင်းတပ်မြို့တွင်မူ အရပ်သားအများအပြားကျန်ရှိနေပြီး ပစ်ခတ်မှုများ ဖြစ်ပေါ်စဉ်အတွင်း ထွက်ပြေးခွင့်မရှိခဲ့ကြကြောင်း သိရှိရပါသည်။
လုံခြုံရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များကြောင့် အရပ်သားများ၏ အိုးအိမ်စည်းစိမ်များ ပျက်စီးခြင်း၊ အဖျက်အဆီးခံရခြင်းနှင့် သိမ်းယူခံရခြင်းများရှိကြောင်း သတင်းပေးပို့ချက်များလည်း ရှိပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကြောင့် အပြင်းအထန် ဒဏ်ရာရ၊ အသက်ဆုံးရှုံးသွားသည့် အမျိုးသား၊ အမျိုးသမီးနှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်များရှိပြီး အရေအတွက်ကိုမူ အတည်မပြုနိုင်သေးပါ။ အရပ်သားများကို ပစ်ခတ်မှုများတွင် လူသားဒိုင်းသဖွယ် အကာအကွယ်ယူခြင်းနှင့် အမျိုးသမီးများနှင့် မိန်းကလေးများအပေါ် လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ ကျူးလွန်ခြင်းများရှိနေသည်ဆိုသည့် သတင်းများအပေါ်လည်း ကုလသမဂ္ဂက စိုးရိမ်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။
ထွက်ပြေးသွားရသူများနှင့် ကျန်ခဲ့သူများပါ စားနပ်ရိက္ခာ၊ ရေ၊ ခိုလှုံရာနေရာနှင့် ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်မှုများ အရေးတကြီး လိုအပ်လျက်ရှိပြီး လိင်အခြေပြု အကြမ်းဖက်မှုဆိုင်ရာနှင့် လူမှုစိတ္တပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီများလည်း လိုအပ်နေပါသည်။ ကုလသမဂ္ဂနှင့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာ မိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသည် လိုအပ်ချက်များ လေ့လာဆန်းစစ်ပြီး ဖြည့်ဆည်းပေးနိုင်ရန် ကြိုးပမ်းအားထုတ်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ သို့ရာတွင် လုံခြုံရေးအခြေအနေနှင့် လမ်းပိတ်ဆို့မှုများအပါအဝင် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီပေးနိုင်ရေး သွားလာခွင့် အခက်အခဲများကြောင့် နှောင့်နှေးကြန့်ကြာမှုများဖြစ်နေပါသည်။
လုံခြုံရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များအနေဖြင့် အရပ်သားများနှင့် အများပြည်သူပိုင်အဆောက်အဦများကို မထိခိုက်စေရန် လိုအပ်သလို ထိန်းထိန်းသိမ်းသိမ်း ဆောင်ရွက်ရန်နှင့် တိုက်ခိုက်သူနှင့်အရပ်သားများအကြား ပစ်မှတ်ခွဲခြားခြင်း၊ လိုအပ်မှသာလျှင် ပစ်ခတ်ခြင်း၊ အင်အားအလွန်အကျွံအသုံးမပြုခြင်းနှင့် အရပ်သားများကို ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ခြင်း အစရှိသည့် အခြေခံ မူဝါဒများကို လိုက်နာရန် ကုလသမဂ္ဂက တောင်းဆိုလိုက်ပါသည်။
ထို့အပြင် အန္တရာယ်ရှိသည့် နေရာများမှ ထွက်ခွာချင်သည့် အရပ်သားများကို တားဆီးခြင်း သို့မဟုတ် ကြန့်ကြာစေခြင်းများမဖြစ်စေဘဲ ခွင့်ပြုပေးရန်၊ ၎င်းတို့၏ ဘေးကင်းမှုအတွက် လုံခြုံရေးယူပေးရန်၊ ဒဏ်ရာရရှိသူများကို ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံသည့် ကျန်းမာရေး စောင့်ရှောက်ရာ နေရာများဆီသို့ လွှဲပြောင်း ပို့ဆောင်ပေးရန် ထပ်မံတောင်းဆိုလိုက်ပါသည်။
အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများမှ ထွက်ပြေးရသူများ၊ မိမိတို့၏ နေအိမ်များထဲတွင် ပိတ်မိနေသူများနှင့် ထိခိုက်သူအားလုံးကို ကုလသမဂ္ဂနှင့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာလုပ်ငန်းများ လုပ်ကိုင်သည့် လုပ်ဖော်ကိုင်ဖက်များက ကယ်ဆယ်ရေး လုပ်ငန်းများ လုပ်ဆောင်ပေးရာတွင် ပါဝင်ပတ်သက်သူအားလုံးအနေဖြင့် အကူအညီပေးရန်နှင့် ဘေးကင်းပြီး နှောင့်နှေးကြန့်ကြာမှုမရှိသည့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီပေးနိုင်ရေး သွားလာခွင့်များ ပေးပါရန် မိမိတို့က တိုက်တွန်းလိုက်ပါသည်။
ကုလသမဂ္ဂသည် လူသားချင်းစာနာခြင်း၊ ခွဲခြားမှုမရှိခြင်း၊ ကြားနေခြင်း နှင့် လွတ်လပ်ခြင်း အစရှိသည့် နိုင်ငံတကာ အသိအမှတ်ပြု မူဝါဒများနှင့်အညီ မည့်သည့်နေရာတွင်မဆို အကူအညီလိုအပ်နေသူများကို ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်ပေးသည့်ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများနှင့် လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီပေးရေး ကြိုးပမ်းအားထုတ်မှုများကို ဆက်လက်လုပ်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ခိုင်မာသော သန္နိဌာန်အား ထပ်လောင်း အတည်ပြုလိုက်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chin State, Internal displacement/forced migration in Chin State, Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Women's rights, Children, Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"End sexual violence in conflict day..."
Source/publisher:
Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe via Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs
Date of publication:
2021-05-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
66.84 KB
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာ ဝန်ကြီးဌာန
ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာချက်အမှတ်(၂/၂၀၂၁)
၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ မေလ (၁၅) ရက်
၁။ ယနေ့နံနက်မှစ၍အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ မြေပြင်နှင့်ဝေဟင် တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကြောင့် မင်းတပ်မြို့သည် စစ်မြေပြင်ကဲ့သို့ ဖြစ်ပွားလျက်ရှိပြီး စစ်ကောင်စီအနေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေများကို ချိုးဖောက်ကာ ဖမ်းဆီးခံရသည့် ပြည်သူလူထုအား လူသားဒိုင်းအဖြစ်အသုံးပြု၍ ပြင်းထန်စွာ ထိုးစစ်ဆင်နေကြောင်း သိရသည်။
၂။ မင်းတပ်မြို့ရှိ တိုက်ပွဲများကြားတွင် ပိတ်မိနေသော အရွယ်မရောက်သေးသည့် ကလေးသူငယ်များ၊ အမျိုးသမီးများနှင့် သက်ကြီးရွယ်အိုများ အတွက် အထူးစိုးရိမ်မိပါသည်။
၃။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ဖမ်းဆီးခံအမျိုးသမီးများကို လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက် ကျူးလွန်မှုများ ရှိနေကြောင်းလည်း သက်သေအချက်အလက်များဖြင့် တိုင်ကြားမှုများ ရှိနေပါသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီ အနေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် အာဆီယံ၏ တောင်းဆိုချက်များအပေါ် လိုက်နာရန်၊ မင်းတပ်မြို့ရှိ ပြည်သူလူထုအား ဝေဟင်စစ်ကြောင်း၊ မြေပြင်စစ်ကြောင်းများဖြင့် အင်အား အလွန်အကျွံသုံးပြီး တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကိုရပ်တန့်ရန်၊ ဒေသခံလူထုများအပေါ် ဓားစာခံအဖြစ် အသုံးချခြင်း၊ လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာအကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ ကျုးလွန်နေခြင်းတို့ကို ချက်ချင်းရပ်တန့်ရန် ထုတ်ပြန်လိုက်သည်။
၄။ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် မင်းတပ်မြို့ရှိ ပြည်သူများ တရားမျှတမှုရရှိစေရန်အတွက် နိုင်ငံတကာ စစ်ခုံရုံးများတွင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ကျူးလွန်မှုများကို တိုင်ကြားသွားမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထို့အပြင် မင်းတပ်မြို့လူထုအတွက် လူသားချင်း စာနာထောက် ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အရေးပေါ်အကူအညီများ အလျင်အမြန် ရရှိနိုင်ရန်လည်း ကူညီသွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ထုတ်ပြန်လိုက်သည်။
အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs
Date of publication:
2021-05-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Chin State, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Chin State, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Fostering the untapped potential of Myanmar’s youth
Description:
"In January 2017, State Counsellor Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi gathered 18 young people from across
Myanmar for a Peace Talk in Nay Pyi Taw. These
youth, representing a range of ethnic identities,
shared their fears, hopes, and insights on how to
transform conflict into peace, and how to build
trust between, and within, communities. While the
Peace Talk was considered by some to be symbolic
rather than substantive, the meeting brought the
issue of youth inclusion to the fore and reaffirmed
previous statements delivered by State Counsellor
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi calling for greater
engagement of youth in peace.8
Throughout Myanmar’s history young men and
women have been active at the community level
in activities ranging from youth-led social affairs
groups (Tha-yay Nar-yay ah thin) to supporting
social and community projects such as free funeral
and wedding services, cultural activities, blood
donations, among many others. In the more formal
peacebuilding sphere, youth have supported and
sustained peacebuilding processes but have rarely
featured in formal, influential public decision-
making roles. In the lead up to the partial signing
of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA)
in October 2015, young men and women were
the backbone of Government and Ethnic Armed
Organisation (EAO) coordination structures,
but were never selected as formal negotiators.
Furthermore, key documents guiding formal
peacebuilding efforts in Myanmar — such
as the NCA and the Framework for Political
Dialogue — do not contain provisions related to
youth inclusion. These documents also do not
consider youth as a cross-cutting issue across
thematic discussions. In other words, speeches
and statements articulating the importance
of youth inclusion have yet to be matched by
inclusion strategies and structures that secure the
meaningful engagement of young people in the
future of their country.
While low levels of youth inclusion in public
decision-making persist, there is an opportunity to
capitalise on nascent youth policy commitments
and harness the contributions of youth leaders,
innovators, facilitators, and policy-advocates to
increase the likelihood of reaching sustainable
peace in the country. Global evidence shows that
broadening public participation – including to
young people – in peace increases the prospects
for it lasting.9
Empowering young peacebuilders
has also been shown to create active citizens for
peace, to reduce violence and to increase peaceful
cohabitation.10 With the passing of United Nations
Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 on
Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) in 2015, there
is also potential for Myanmar to lead globally
and set good practice for sustainably increasing
the involvement of young people at all levels of
decision-making, policy-making and peacebuilding.
Myanmar youth are contributing formally and
informally to a host of peacebuilding initiatives;
leveraging these contributions, often innovative
and catalytic in their approaches, can support the
multiple transitions the country is undergoing.
Bringing the role of young people to the forefront
of Myanmar’s transition also builds on Myanmar’s
history where students and youth movements
have influenced the trajectory of the country.
This Discussion Paper provides a starting point
for understanding the status of youth inclusion
in peacebuilding in Myanmar. In Section 1, this
Discussion Paper assesses the involvement of
youth and inclusion of youth perspectives in peace
at both national and sub-national levels since 2011.
Section 2 analyses the challenges young women
and men face to their substantive involvement in
peacebuilding. Section 3 draws upon national and
international good practice, articulating a strategic
framework for action to overcome obstacles
discussed in Section 2. (For a detailed overview of
the methodology used to inform this Paper, see
Annex 2.)
opportunities and challenges to young men. Other
identity factors often supersede age-related
identity. Thus, when discussing youth in Myanmar,
it is critical to understand other elements of
identity that intersect with age, such as: gender,
ethnicity, religion, class, disability, Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Questioning
(LGBTIQ), migration, nationality, drug use, among
others..."
Source/publisher:
Paung Sie Facility, UKaid, SWEDEN, Australian Aid
Date of publication:
2017-01-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Panglong Peace Conference, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Children, Education rights: standards and mechanisms, Children's Rights - studies, Women's rights, Ethnic groups in Burma: general studies and articles
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Description:
"Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to attend her next court hearing in person, her chief lawyer said on Monday, after weeks of stalled virtual proceedings over charges her supporters say are fabricated.
Since her arrest hours before a Feb. 1 military coup, Suu Kyi has been held at her residence in Naypyitaw and faces numerous, mostly minor charges filed in two courts, the most serious under a colonial-era official secrets act, punishable by 14 years in prison.
"The presiding judge declared that by the instruction of the Union Supreme Court, the cases were to be heard in person, not virtually by video conferencing," her legal team head, Khin Maung Zaw, said in a text message, referring to Monday's hearing.
He said the judge "told us that the problem will eventually be solved", and that Suu Kyi asked what the judge meant by "eventually".
Suu Kyi, 75, has been permitted to speak with lawyers only via a video link in the presence of security personnel. Her co-defendant is Win Myint, the ousted president.
Her lawyers have said they have discussed with Suu Kyi only her legal case and do not know the extent to which she is aware of the crisis in her country.
Khin Maung Zaw said his team was seeking access to Suu Kyi before the next hearing on May 24, without interference of others.
He said he reminded the judge "that it is the undeniable right of the defendants to meet and give instructions to the defence counsel in a private meeting"...."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-05-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights Defenders, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, Other laws impacting on civil and political rights, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Topic:
Peace and Security
Sub-title:
The United Nations independent human rights expert on Myanmar on Friday called on countries that have not yet done so, to impose arms embargo on the country urgently, to stop the “massacre” of citizens across the country.
Topic:
Peace and Security
Description:
"Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the southeast Asian nation, underscored in a statement, the need to stop the flow of weapons and so called dual-use weapons technology into the hands of forces under the command of the military junta, describing it as “literally a matter of life and death.”
“There is no time to lose … I urge governments who support cutting the flow of weapons to a brutal military junta to consider immediately establishing their own arms embargo against Myanmar while simultaneously encouraging UN Security Council action.”
‘Dual-use’ technology
Mr. Andrews also said that bilateral arms embargoes should encompass both weapons and dual-use technology, including surveillance equipment.
“Together, they will represent an important step forward to literally taking guns out of the hands of those killing innocent men, women and children.”
The Special Rapporteur also applauded a call by over 200 civil society organizations to bring the arms embargo issue to the attention of the 15-member Security Council.
He is currently updating a list of States that have established arms embargoes against Myanmar, Mr. Andrews added, noting that he intended to publish an updated list next month. The independent expert’s report to the Human Rights Council in March identified that nations that had already established arms embargoes.
Month four
Into its fourth month, the political turmoil – marked by near daily pro-democracy protests and a brutal crackdown by security forces – has reportedly claimed at least 750 lives and wounded countless more.
There are also serious concerns over the continuing impact of the crisis, with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) warning of an economic collapse, and the UN human rights chief cautioning that Myanmar could spiral into a “full-blown conflict” similar to the implosion of Syria over the past decade, if the bloodshed does not stop.....Preparing supplies for refugees, in Thailand: Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said that it is pre-positioning key relief items and personal protective equipment (PPE) in Thailand, which could potentially be provided to those fleeing violence in Myanmar.
According to a bulletin issued earlier this week, about 2,300 people crossed from Myanmar into Thailand on 27 April due to increased fighting and they are currently hosted in safe zones, managed by the Thai Army.
“UNHCR has advocated for access to the population and offered support to the Thai Government’s efforts to respond to further displacement from Myanmar and address refugees’ protection needs”, it said.
As of 31 December 2020, there are about 92,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand, who fled previous waves of displacement, in nine temporary shelters, according to UNHCR.....Refugee arrivals in India: Similarly, the agency estimates that between 4,000 to 6,000 refugees from Myanmar have entered into the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur since March, where local charities and individuals have provided life-saving assistance those arriving.
“Some 190 have moved onward to New Delhi, where UNHCR is assessing their needs and has begun registering and providing them with basic assistance”, the agency added, noting that it has offered its support to the Indian Government in protection, and humanitarian coordination and response to new arrivals from Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-05-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN human rights documents on Myanmar, UN Security Council, The UN and Burma - news and commentary, UN System humanitarian assistance, Women's rights, Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles, Burmese refugees in India
Language:
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Description:
"Since the Burmese military staged a coup d’état on February 1, 2021, people from all different sectors, ages, and backgrounds have actively participated in anti-coup demonstrations in various ways. In response, the military and security forces have brutally cracked down on peaceful protesters, who have suffered arrests and other inhumane abuses.
Despite the oppression and brutal crackdowns, people have not stopped taking to the streets and making their voices heard. Defying the risks, women have stood on the frontlines holding bulletproof shields. Some have been arrested, brutally harassed, and even killed. Their memory and stories must not be forgotten, and must serve as lessons for the next generation. For this reason, Honest Information (HI), a women’s media platform, is creating this record of women’s participation in the 2021 Spring Revolution, for the period of February 1 to March 31, 2021.
Our hope is for this to become a memorial document for the women’s movement after the revolution is over.....Women Lead the Demonstrations: On February 6, six days after the coup, large crowds of people staged a mass protest against the military dictatorship in downtown Yangon. The country was awoken to the loud slogan, “End the military coup!” Women have dominated the protests in all sectors, which has made the movement even more powerful.
The first labour strikes began with thousands of workers from Hlaing Thar Yar industrial zone in Yangon, most of whom were women. On the same day, the young political activist Ma Ei Thinzar Maung, led a strike starting in Hladen, Yangon.....Creative Demonstrations: Anti-coup demonstrations accelerated throughout February, and people all across the country took part in creative demonstrations against the junta. Women organized and participated in some of the most significant demonstrations, including the hundreds of thousands of protestors representing the union of education and health workers who have taken part in the revolution.
Housewives and elderly women have participated by banging pots and pans every night to protest the coup since February 2.
On February 10, over one hundred young women marched in the streets wearing colourful ball gowns and wedding dresses; and on February 11, mothers groups marched in Yangon, carrying their babies.
After the military released over 23,000 prisoners on February 12, including those convicted of violent crimes, some houses in wards and quarters of Yangon were victim to arson. Local people organized self-security watches of their neighborhoods, and took turns patrolling at nighttime. Women also participated in these security efforts and also acted as watch persons.
On February 20, women gathered and performed a symbolic ritual of taking out the roots from bean sprouts. This symbolizes the Burmese people wanting to remove the roots from the military dictatorship.
On February 25, protestors all across the country took part in the Thanakha Strike, also known as “The Battle of Thanakha”. Thanakha is a traditional cosmetic face paste, made from ground barks of the Thanakha tree. Women made fresh Thanakha, and used it to paint different messages and shapes on the faces of protestors to send a message of anti-coup resistance.
On February 28, an historic demonstration was organized by a women’s group in Kayah, where more than 100,000 women marched against the military dictatorship carrying bras and sanitary pads. They sent the message that women’s lives under the military are not safe, and even sanitary pads are better at protecting women than the military is.
On March 15, teachers gathered at Bagan Pagoda to pray and swear (religious belief, saying true words to fulfill desire) for those who have fallen to the military dictatorship.
Housewives also took to the streets on March 22 and 25 in South Dagon and Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine, using kitchen materials and vegetables to protest against the military coup..."
Source/publisher:
Honest Information
Date of publication:
2021-05-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Burmese women's organisations, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"A few weeks ago, a strange sight began appearing in the streets of Myanmar (Burma). Women have been hanging their traditional htamein – the pieces of cloth they wear as skirts – from ropes tied to windows or utility poles, suspending them above the streets like decoration for a parade. Some attach them to sticks and carry them as flags. These women are not simply putting out the laundry; they are protesting the coup d’état staged by the Burmese military on 1 February.
“Men think they have special powers just for being men,” Khin Ohmar, a women’s rights activist in Myanmar, tells Equal Times. “And they believe that walking underneath a piece of women’s clothing will make them lose their special powers.” The htamein are thus used as shields to protect the protest areas and prevent the military from entering.
From the very beginning, women have been at the forefront of protests against the coup that deposed Myanmar’s civilian government led by the iconic Aung San Suu Kyi.
According to data provided to Radio Free Asia by the local organisation Gender Equality Network, women make up some 60 per cent of the protesters who have taken to the streets and between 70 and 80 per cent of the movement’s leaders. Many are nurses, teachers and textile factory workers, who already found themselves in a vulnerable situation due to Covid-19.
Many of the women who have taken to the streets have given their lives to protect Myanmar’s fragile democracy, says Wah Khu Shee. The first was 20-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, who became a symbol for the movement after her death on 19 February. Then came Ma Kyal Sin, a 19-year-old killed in early March at a protest in Mandalay, in the north of the country, who became another symbol, along with the phrase written on her t-shirt that day: “Everything will be OK.”
The military announced its takeover in early February after months of refusing to accept the results of the November 2020 elections, in which Suu Kyi’s party was victorious. Since then, at least 750 people have been killed by security forces and more than 3,696 have been arrested, charged or convicted, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.....Signs of a failed democracy: Last February’s coup d’état is nothing new for the people of Myanmar. The Burmese military first seized power in 1962 and would tightly control the country for nearly five decades. In 1990, after changing the country’s official name to Myanmar in an attempt to gain greater international recognition, the military government allowed for elections to be held. But when Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party emerged victorious, the junta annulled the election results and increased repression.
When the military government once again announced a path towards ‘disciplined democracy’ in 2003, the process was seen as another attempt at improving public relations. A new constitution, which reserved significant power for the military, was adopted in 2008 and in 2010 the first elections took place. The NLD refused to participate in those elections in protest of an electoral framework that prevented Suu Kyi from running. However, new elections in 2015 led to a handover of power to a civilian government controlled by Suu Kyi, a decisive step for many towards democratic transition.
But according to Gabrielle Bardall, Research Fellow at the Centre for International Policy Studies, University of Ottawa, and Elin Bjarnegård, Associate Professor in Political Science at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, the absence of women throughout this process has been conspicuous. The new constitution, for example, reserves 25 per cent of seats in parliament and several ministerial posts for the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s armed forces, which only recently opened up to women.
Not even Suu Kyi’s presence in key positions of power – though the constitution prohibited her from becoming the country’s president because she was married to a foreigner and had children of another nationality – was not enough to change the country’s political dynamics. “The example of one woman [in power] is not enough. We need women who understand women’s issues and stand up for women’s rights,” says Wah Khu Shee. Suu Kyi, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, has been criticised for not making gender equality one of her priorities.
According to Bjarnegård, there has also been little change within the political parties. “I haven’t seen too many big changes or signs that reform has been an important priority for the parties,” she says. As she explains, one of the main problems has been finding women who want to go into politics. “All the women we interviewed needed the full support of their families and husbands to enter politics professionally,” she continues, pointing to the country’s “patriarchal culture” as one of the main impediments. In the November 2020 elections, women won only 15 per cent of seats.....Shifting gender roles: Khin Ohmar still remembers how difficult it was to be a woman in her early years of activism. In 1988, the country rose up against the military junta after a student was killed by the police. Ohmar, also a student at the time, refused to stay home. “I had a very difficult situation with my family because they tried to stop me from taking to the streets,” she says. Ohmar went on to become vice-president of one of the student unions that formed in those years, at a time when women were often relegated to administrative and financial positions. “Some doors opened for women to occupy certain leadership positions, but it was still very patriarchal,” she continues.
While in exile over the following decades, Khin Ohmar remained involved in the pro-democracy movement but felt that many still refused to take the issue of gender equality seriously. “They thought we only wanted to talk about women’s issues. But we wanted to talk about politics, about the federal system,” she explains. “That’s why our country is stuck. The roots of this patriarchy run too deep.”
But Ohmar has seen a change in gender roles over the course of the current protests. “In 1988, the leaders were men. This time, they’re women. It’s exciting,” she says. According to the 2019 report Feminism in Myanmar, political reforms after 2010 “opened space for the coordination of efforts by women’s organisations inside and outside the country,” in an activism that has “engaged not only with fulfilling the basic needs of communities but also with the policy reform process.” The report further argues that women have improved their capacity for social mobilisation and networking during the years of democratic transition.
Bjarnegård has also observed a change in dynamics. “The current protests have shown us that something is changing. We see young people, both men and women. It’s another generation that is in some ways more liberal, that has had access to Facebook and that has been influenced by other countries,” she says.
She cites the example of the peace process between the government and some of the principal ethnic guerrillas (2011-2015), in which only four women were present in the delegations sent to negotiations (less than 6 per cent of the total number of representatives, according to Bardall and Bjarnegård’s data). However, she holds onto a small glimmer of hope: “I hope that, this time, we can see [the impact of] the improvements that women have experienced in decision-making [during the democratic period].” She hopes that these changes will prevent women from once again being “relegated to the kitchen” when peace returns. “There have been improvements but it’s still very difficult…we have to wait and see..."
Source/publisher:
"Equal Times"
Date of publication:
2021-05-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Burmese women's organisations, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
The turmoil following the military coup in Myanmar, coupled with the impact of COVID-19 could result in up to 25 million people – nearly half of the country’s population, living in poverty by early next year, a United Nations report said on Friday.
Description:
"That level of impoverishment has not been seen in the country since 2005, and the economy is facing significant risks of a collapse, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in its report, COVID-19, Coup d’état and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and their Impact on Human Development in Myanmar.
“In the space of 12 years, from 2005 to 2017, Myanmar managed to nearly halve the number of people living in poverty. However, the challenges of the past 12 months have put all of these hard-won development gains at risk,” Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, said.
“Without functioning democratic institutions, Myanmar faces a tragic and avoidable backslide towards levels of poverty not seen in a generation.”
The study also noted that as economic, health and political crises affect people and communities differently, vulnerable groups are more likely to suffer, a fact particularly relevant for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and ethnic minorities, in particular, the Rohingya community.....Multiple shocks: According to the report, by the end of 2020, 83 per cent of Myanmar’s households reported that their incomes had been, on average, slashed almost in half due to the pandemic. As a result, the number of people living below the poverty line was estimated to have increased by 11 per cent points.
The situation worsened further with the 1 February military takeover and the ensuing security and human rights crisis, with projections indicating a further 12 per cent point increase in poverty as a result.
In the nearly three months since, over 750 people – including children – are reported to have been killed by security forces in a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, countless more have been wounded and thousands arrested.
Furthermore, clashes between Myanmar security forces and regional armed groups have resulted in fresh displacements in several parts of the country, as well as forcing many to seek refuge outside its borders.
Prior to the latest crises, nearly a million people in Myanmar (identified at the start of 2021) are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.....Women, children, small businesses hit hardest: According to the study, women and children are feared to bear the heaviest brunt, with more than half of Myanmar’s children projected to be living in poverty within a year.
Urban poverty is also expected to triple, as worsening security situation continues to effect supply chains and hinder the movement of people, services and commodities. Small businesses, which provide the majority of jobs and incomes for the poorer segments of the urban population, have been hit hard, UNDP said.
It also added that pressures on the country’s currency, the Kyat, has increased the price of imports and energy, while the volume of seaborne trade is estimated to have dropped by between 55 and 64 per cent.
At the same time, the country’s banking system remains paralyzed, resulting in shortages of cash, limiting access to social welfare payments, and preventing much-needed remittances from reaching hard-pressed families.....Corrective actions urgently needed: The report also noted that without rapid corrective actions on economic, social, political and human rights protection policies, Myanmar’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 could be derailed.
As a dire and complex situation unfolds – characterized not only in humanitarian terms but also as a deep crisis in development, democratization, and human rights – and circumstances worsen, international support will play an important role in safeguarding the well-being of the Myanmar population, it added..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-04-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNDP - Burma/Myanmar, Sustainable development, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children, Child labour in Burma, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Ministry Investigates Sexual Violence in Detention: 1. We strongly condemn the serious allegations of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in unlawful detention committed by the military-led State Administrative Council and its security forces. We have received many disturbing reports of women being tortured, verbally and
sexually assaulted, severely beaten causing serious injuries, including a case of a woman being raped during an interrogation by the security forces. Some detained women have also reportedly been humiliated in public, forced to dance in the streets to entertain the security forces, while others have been groped and manhandled during arrests. One woman miscarried while in detention as a result of mistreatment.....2. These cases are indicative of the wider pattern of sexual and gender-based violence committed by Myanmar’s military that has persisted for years with impunity, particularly against ethnic minority
women and girls in armed conflict areas. In 2019, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (IIFFMM) found that the military committed "widespread and systematic" gender-based violence against ethnic communities, employing tactics such as rape, gang rape, sexual slavery and other forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people. According to the IIFFMM, such violations could amount to crimes against humanity and
grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. The military’s use of rape as a weapon of war to terrorize ethnic communities has been widespread and systematic, particularly in ethnic conflict-affected
areas, and has been widely documented by the local ethnic women organizations and the international community.....3. We are deeply troubled that the State Administrative Council appears to have set aside the Joint Communique that was signed by the Government of Myanmar and the United Nations in 2018. This agreement was adopted under the framework of United Nations Security Council resolution 2106 (2013) and requires Myanmar’s military to implement specific time-bound commitments that include the issuance of clear orders through chains of command prohibiting sexual violence
and accountability for breaching these orders, as well as timely investigation of alleged abuses.....4. We appeal to the international community to immediately investigate the allegations of widespread
sexual and gender-based violence being committed by the military junta so that all perpetrators, regardless of seniority or rank, can be held accountable for their actions. Furthermore, we
believe that immediate action is needed to end the ongoing intensification of nationwide attacks against civilians by the military, that includes widespread allegations sexual and gender-based
violence. We therefore urge the UN Secretary-General to use his good offices to deter further grave violations from taking place. This could include an official visit to Myanmar by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, with the goal of stopping the military terror and violence and securing the safety of the people of Myanmar.....5. We are committed to a zero-tolerance policy for crimes of sexual and gender-based violence, in line with Myanmar’s obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including
UN Security Council resolution 1325 and related resolutions, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We call on the UN, including the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in Myanmar, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ASEAN Commission
on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, and the international community to work with our Ministry to protect the rights of women, youth and children and stop and prevent further violence. We all have a responsibility to hold the perpetrators of such heinous crimes to account and to address the needs of survivors through a survivor-centered approach, including provision of necessary services such as medical care and psychological support. The ministry will continue investigate these allegations and document the incidents in order to bring justice for all victims. Our Ministry stands with the victims and survivors of sexual and genderbased
violence and commits to ending violence against women, youth and children and to ensure justice and accountability....Ministry of Women, Youth and Children's Affairs National Unity Government..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-04-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma
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"The 19-year-old's eyes are so swollen he cannot open them properly. His face is marked with big purple welts and bruises. Etched into his shoulders and back are long, dark lacerations that have yet to heal over -- wounds, he said, that were inflicted when Myanmar military officers who had detained him whipped him repeatedly with cable wires.
"I thought I would die," the teenager, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said of his three-day stint in a military detention camp, while showing a photo of his wounds.
He is one of more than 4,400 people detained by Myanmar's security forces since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The round-up, part of a systematic and bloody crackdown on any perceived opposition to the takeover, has ensnared politicians, protesters, journalists, striking workers, celebrities, and even children and bystanders.
Many people have been taken in terrifying nighttime raids or abducted off the streets and held in secretive facilities out of contact from their families. Little is known about the conditions they are kept in.
But the accounts of those who have been released, as well as from defectors from the military and family members, detail brutal acts of violence and torture.
The teen was traveling back to Yangon from Bago on his moped when he said he was stopped at a military checkpoint on April 9. It was a long drive, and it was already getting late. That day had seen one of the deadliest crackdowns on protesters, with more than 80 killed by security forces in the town, according to AAPP.
Searching his bag and phone, soldiers found images of him with a shield at protests.
The 19-year-old said he was taken to a military compound, where his hands were tied and he was repeatedly beaten by the guards, who used cables, the butts of guns, and glass bottles.
"The commander tied my hands from the back and used small scissors to cut my ears, the tip of my nose, my neck and my throat. (He) hit my head with a glass bottle, beat me up, pointed at me with guns but the bullets did not come out. He used the gun to threaten me as soon as I got to their station. Then he let his fellow soldiers beat me up that night," he said.
The soldiers accused him of giving money to the Civil Disobedience Movement, in which doctors, workers and civil servants have gone on strike to cripple the economy and bring down the junta, led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
"They beat me with a cable wire, they used a big cable wire and they braid it with two cable wires to make it bigger. They forced us to be on our knees, with our backs straight, and punched and kicked us. When we fell on the ground they hit us with the cable wire. It hurt so much. I even told them to kill me instead of torturing me it was that painful," the teenager said.
Three weeks after his ordeal, he remains in hiding. His wounds are healing, he said, but he still has difficulty walking and can't properly fasten his buttons.
During the beatings, one thing kept him going. "I thought I was about to die but I have to stay strong, I couldn't eat what they gave to me but I forced myself to eat to stay alive, we have to be released and when we get released we can participate (in the protests) again," the 19-year-old said.
His scars, both physical and mental, are a constant reminder of the military's grotesque cruelty and lack of regard for the civilians they claim to rule over.
The 19-year-old said he was detained after soldiers found images on his phone of him at protests.
More than 750 people, including large numbers of children and young people, have been killed by security forces since the military junta seized power, AAPP has documented. A growing number of those killed are injured protesters who were detained by the military and denied medical attention. Others, including ousted members of the democratically elected National League for Democracy, have died in custody, their bodies bearing the marks of torture.
"People arrested by the security forces are more likely to be subjected to torture or ill treatment in detention," said Zaw Win, human rights specialist with rights group Fortify Rights. "Our team has documented cases of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and beatings since February 1. The military tactics of arrest and ill treatment are creating an environment of terror and anxiety among the public. Yet, protesters are still going to the streets to call for an end to military rule."
Torture was widespread and well documented during the previous military regime, which began transferring power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011. Despite the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy being in power since 2014, the United Nations Convention Against Torture was never signed.
The AAPP said torture in Myanmar is still commonplace during interrogation and imprisonment to extract confessions or further degrade and humiliate detainees.
CNN has reached out to Myanmar's military for comment. In state media, the junta has said it is acting with restraint in handling what it has described as demonstrations by "riotous protesters" whom it accuses of attacking police and harming national security and stability.....Barely recognizable: Despite claims of restraint, the military junta has shown no shame in its acts of cruelty -- if anything, it's made efforts to publicize those acts as a warning to anyone who dares to speak out.
Every night at 8 p.m. local time, neatly coiffed news anchors announce a list of people wanted for arrest on junta-controlled TV. The broadcasts have included actors, musicians, journalists and doctors who have gone on strike to protest the coup -- their photographs and social media profiles beamed across the country.
On April 18, the military aired the images of six people it had arrested and accused of being in possession of homemade bombs following a series of deadly blasts in the Yangon suburb of Yankin on April 17. The faces of the four men and two women bore severe signs of abuse.
One of the women, 31-year-old dance teacher Khin Nyein Thu, was barely recognizable, her mother said. Her face was swollen and bloody. Her mother, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said Khin Nyein Thu was picked up in a nighttime raid and she is concerned about her welfare in an interrogation center, where she is now believed to be held.
An undated photo of dance teacher Khin Nyein Thu.
Her mother managed to catch a glimpse of her daughter when she was first taken to the police station. "She was clearly in pain, she was walking unsteadily and when I called her she turned around to look at me. It was at this point I could tell that her face was very swollen," she said.
"I was told by someone who was released that she has been hit in the face, I understand she has cuts on her face and lips, and bruised eyes, and lost a tooth."
She described Khin Nyein Thu, her only child, as a creative, artistic person who loved to dance, paint, kickbox, and share what she knows with others.
Though detained on April 17, Khin Nyein Thu has not been charged or taken to prison, her mother said. Instead, she believes she has been transferred to another interrogation camp.
"I could not sleep all night and I had a choking feeling of fear. The worst was thinking I could not follow her," the mother said of the night her daughter was taken. Desperate to hear from her daughter, she added, "I want to see her. I want her to get medical treatment as soon as possible."
'They will kill anyone they want':Even among the lower ranks of the military, there are soldiers disgusted with the violence they are being ordered to carry out against their fellow countrymen and women.
From the safety of neighboring India, a 23-year-old former army cadet said he defected from the military, haunted by his experiences on nighttime raids. CNN has agreed not to name him for his safety.
He described a culture of intimidation and brainwashing within the military, known as the Tatmadaw, where from day one new recruits are told the country can only be at peace if the army is in charge.
Freshly graduated from military training in March, the 23-year-old was posted to Yangon's Mingaladon township, where he was ordered to join the nightly raids and arrest suspected protesters or opponents of the coup.
He said every night they would deploy with two rounds of ammunition, assault rifles, detailed maps of neighborhoods and names of protest leaders from their informants.
"They order us to shoot when the person we want to arrest is escaping from the house," the former cadet said. "At one point we went to arrest two leaders, one got arrested and one was trying to escape and we shot him on the spot." He said the person who was shot managed to escape, so they arrested his daughter who was also in the house.
"The orders depend on the commanders of the group, if they told us shoot then we have to shoot right away," he added.
A former army cadet from Myanmar's military who defected across the border to India after being ordered to take part in raids and beatings of protesters.
The former cadet claims he intentionally broke his rifle that night so it wouldn't fire, but he couldn't avoid participating in the beatings. His account gives a harrowing insight into the military's operations, as reported by countless protesters and family members of those detained.
"They were crying when we raid their houses and beating them. The neighbors knew too but on one dares to come out at night. If someone looks at us through their windows, we asked them to come out and beat them too. The military will find fault at every house they raid and will beat them," he said.
The culture of fear within the ranks means he cannot complain. "I cannot say anything even if I do not like what they are doing," he said.
Anyone found outside after curfew at 8 p.m. local time is interrogated and beaten. If they run, military orders are ordered to shoot them, the former cadet said. No one is spared this treatment, including women and children.
"The youngest one I saw was around 10 or 11 years old, a boy," he said.
"If someone talks back to us, we will hit them with the back of the gun -- and some bleed. I feel sad every night as I have to watch when they are beating people in the house, including children, and I couldn't say anything to them. I feel sad every night."
The former cadet also described what many family members and activists have reported -- that injured protesters are being denied medical care while in custody. Some pass away in detention from their wounds, left to die with no aid to ease their suffering.
"When people got shot and got arrested they didn't get any treatment. Some were still alive when they got shot but because they didn't get any treatment, they died in the morning because they lost too much blood. Then the military gave the dead body back to the family," he said.
The former cadet said that at the military barracks, soldiers are not allowed to leave the base and are only allowed to watch the military TV channel.
"They brainwash us by telling us that it's only because of the Tatmadaw's existence the country is peaceful. They told us the ethnic armed groups are smuggling drugs and trafficking people and that is why the Tatmadaw has to fight them. If the Tatmadaw do not exit, the civilians will not be able to live peacefully anymore," he said.
Previous atrocities perpetuated by the military have shown the indoctrination to be nationwide and decades old. Human rights abuses by the military, including beatings, torture, extrajudicial killings, forced labor and sexual violence, have been long documented by the UN and rights groups in ethnic areas such as Kachin and Karen states.
In 2017, the military's campaign of killing and arson against the Rohingya community in Rakhine state forced more than 740,000 people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. A genocide case against the military and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is ongoing at the International Court of Justice.
Now, the military has brought its ruthless war tactics from the jungles and borderlands to the towns and cities. Soldiers, like the young former cadet, are turning their guns on people who could be their neighbors.
The former cadet said it was the cruelty to the families of the protesters that finally broke him, so he decided to escape and made the long journey from Yangon to the Indian border.
"I have to go out every night and I don't want to do this anymore, I cannot keep seeing people got beaten every night," he said.
"They will kill anyone they want kill, that's what I know of them."..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-04-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, violations of, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights
Language:
more
Topic:
Gender; generation; social justice; agrarian transformation; environmental transformation; rural politics
Topic:
Gender; generation; social justice; agrarian transformation; environmental transformation; rural politics
Description:
"ABSTRACT: The changes that have swept rural Myanmar, transforming
landscapes and affecting livelihoods, have ignited rural politics
and civil society and grassroot organizations’ strategies to
counter, resist, negotiate and adapt to these changes. Rural
politics have centred on broad calls for agrarian and
environmental rights and social justice that do not address
women’s rights, gender and generational justice explicitly. Based
on fieldwork carried out in Myanmar’s Taninthary region, and
engagement with grassroots organizations, I examine how
gender and generational power dynamics play out, transform and
are transformed in processes of agrarian and environmental
change and rural politics.....Introduction: In Myanmar, land and natural resources have been historically the focus of extractivist
initiatives that benefited colonial administrations, central states, the military and powerful elites and deprived small farmers, fishers and forest-dependent groups, including ethnic groups, particularly women and girls, of access to natural resources, shelter and livelihoods (Karen Human Rights Group 2006, 2015; Tavoyan Women’s Union 2015; Barbesgaard 2019; see also Kramer forthcoming; Sekine forthcoming, this collection). Starting in 2012 the neoliberal orientation of recent civilian governments, discursively legitimized by agendas for economic growth, sustainable development and climate
change mitigation and adaptation, has bolstered this tendency. Since 2011, legal reforms in the areas of land use, land conversion, and investments have facilitated the entrance and operations of international capital and investors in the country. In addition,
the 2012 preliminary ceasefire between the Union Government (UG) and several Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) has enabled access of domestic and foreign capital to once secluded areas, including Tanintharyi region in the South, which had long been a
hotspot of conflict and ethnic insurgency and had thus remained relatively isolated (Bryant 1994; Malseed 2009; Woods 2015a, 2015b).
The surge of extractive and infrastructure development initiatives, combined with conservation plans to restrict access to protected and designated areas, have accelerated the transformation of Myanmar’s rural landscapes and livelihoods. This, in turn, has sparked civil society and grassroots organizations’ strategies and actions to resist,
negotiate and adapt to these changes. Members of affected communities, often with support from grassroots and local civil society organizations, have resisted, mobilized and strategized on ways to advance their own counter-visions of development (Park
2019). Coupled with opportunities to engage in ‘contentious politics’ (Tarrow 1994; Tilly 2002, 2004) as noted in the introductory article of this Special Issue, the mobilization from below has expanded the repertoire of ‘contentious performances’ that are
being developed dynamically and in conversation with the political, social and economic context (Tilly 2002, 2004). In Myanmar, just like in other countries in the region, women and men, young and old, have taken active part in these political struggles; women, notably, have been at the forefront of protests and diverse forms of activism,
often at the cost of their bodily integrity and the breakdown in family relations. Research from other countries confirms that women, including older women, participated in protests often as a strategy to curb violent repression and retaliation by the military and the police, to protect their sons and husbands, and in some cases as activists in their own right (see for example, Brickell 2014; Lamb et al. 2017; Park and Maffii 2017; Tavoyan Women’s Union 2015; Morgan 2017).
While these changes affect different people, including their political agency, in ways that are mediated by gender, age, ethnicity and other social and power differences, the urgency and fluidity of the issues on the ground requires cohesion in mobilization and swift action. Partly because of this, rural politics have tended to centre on broad calls
for agrarian and environmental rights and social justice that do not address women’s rights, gender equality and generational justice explicitly. Women’s groups have also been often side-lined; whereas youth have been engaged by environmental and ethnic
grassroots groups within the frame of well-defined scripts that do not challenge power, gender and age hierarchies. The exclusion of women’s groups and gender equality from agrarian and environmental justice movements, and the reasons underlying it, have been highlighted by many feminist scholars (see for example, Harris 2015; Park 2018; Deere 2003; Stephen 2006; Krishna 2015) who have called for urgent convergence to avoid the risk that movements for social justice could be void of gender and generational justice. Krishna (2015), for example, notes that in India some of the larger movements that have led to state formation have failed to recognize women’s claims for gender justice in spite of their conspicuous participation and even leadership. In the Andes, Harris (2015, 171) highlights the disconnect between feminist and indigenous and other movements and calls for a better articulation of ‘feminist analytics and organizing’, advocating for going beyond women’s engagement towards adoption of a feminist agenda that questions power structures. The fight against patriarchy has also been central to the demands of peasant women in international movements such as La Via Campesina. This article explores the potential of rural politics to be catalytic of change that promotes gender and generational justice and contributes to making the case for the need for not one but multiple convergences – feminist political ecology with feminist political economy, agrarian and environmental movements with feminist movements. Based
on fieldwork conducted in Tanintharyi between 2014 and 2018 and engagement with local grassroots organizations, I examine how gender and generational power dynamics play out, transform and are transformed in processes of agrarian and environmental
change and rural politics. I look at the conditions that support a (re)negotiation of gender roles and relations and how these could be conducive to gender-transformative rural politics, that is, politics that fosters gender equality and generational justice as a
key dimension of social change and social justice (Cornwall 2014)..."
Source/publisher:
The Journal of Peasant Studies via Routledge (London)
Date of publication:
2021-01-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land rights, Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Land research including land grabbing - global and regional, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights, Burmese women's organisations, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
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Sub-title:
Some 60 percent of protesters against the military coup are women who fear their hard-won rights hang in the balance.
Description:
"Every day at sunrise, Daisy* and her sisters set out to spend several hours in the heat cleaning debris from the previous day’s protests off the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.
Protests have erupted around the country since the military seized control of the government after arresting democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on February 1, and declared a year-long state of emergency.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-profit rights organisation formed by former political prisoners from Myanmar and based in Thailand, 715 civilian protesters have been killed and more than 3,000 people have been charged, arrested or sentenced to prison for taking part in protests. March 27 marked the deadliest day of the anti-coup protests so far, with more than 100 deaths in a single day.
Daisy, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher, has been out of work since the first week of February, because schools have been closed as a result of the protests, but is the sole earner and carer for her two younger sisters, aged 15 and 13. Despite this, she spends a portion of whatever money she has left to help feed hungry protesters.
The military makes use of dalans – local people who are forced to spy on their neighbours and, in particular, to target women living alone whose homes are easy targets for looting and harassment. As a result, Daisy and her sisters have been forced to move home three times and are now in hiding with relatives.
“The military are preying on vulnerable women, breaking in and raiding where we live to seize our belongings and lock us up for no reason,” Daisy says.
But despite having little financial security, Daisy continues to help with the protests. “As women, we are the most at risk under the military but however large or small, our place is in the revolution.”.....Outrageous displays of ‘profanity’: Across Myanmar, women protesters have lined the streets with vibrant traditional women’s clothing and undergarments in the hope of challenging a long-held taboo around women’s clothing.
“Htaimein – Burmese for sarongs and intimate women’s wear – are perceived as ‘unclean’ in traditional Buddhist belief and thus considered inferior in Burmese society,” explains 25-year-old Su, an activist and university student who does not wish to give her full name for fear of reprisals. Su is originally from Dadaye, a town in the Ayeyarwady region of southwest Myanmar. “Coming into contact or walking under these is believed to bring bad luck, reducing one’s hpone – masculine superiority – in Buddhist belief.”
She says hanging up sarongs has been an effective deterrent to keep the military from attacking the protesters as their staunch beliefs will not allow them go anywhere near the orchestrated clothing lines.
Women are also using their sarongs to create flags and hats for men to parade alongside banners that read “our victory, our htaimein” to celebrate wielding a degrading superstition about women as a successful defence strategy.
In a similar vein, women have been hanging sanitary towels drenched in red paint to emulate blood over photos of the military general, Min Aung Llaing. “For a society where men, including Min Llaing, detest the idea of menstruation, smearing his face with what he finds the dirtiest is unimaginably humiliating,” Su explains. “Sarongs and sanitary napkins are symbolic of the women in Myanmar and how they are regarded as inferior to men in society.”
By weaponising these displays of “profanity”, women say they are reclaiming their status against the same patriarchal attitudes that perceive them as lesser in society.....Civil disobedience as a means of resistance: The Women’s League of Burma, an organisation which seeks to increase women’s participation in public life in Myanmar (which was formerly called Burma), estimates that 60 percent of those protesting are women, while the AAPP says women make up almost 40 percent of those arrested.
The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has brought the country’s public services, including healthcare, schools and banks, to a halt. It is also behind efforts to deprive the military of its income by boycotting military-owned services and products such as tobacco, alcohol, coffee and oil, and refusing to pay government taxes.
Chit*, a 26-year-old doctor-in-training from Yangon, has been part of a group of female medical volunteers tending to the wounded during the protests. She believes providing medical care to protesters is a duty for all doctors. She says she has heard of one female doctor who was shot by the military while trying to aid a patient. “As women, we are expected to stay in ‘safe’ areas of the protests but we know our place is wherever help is needed.”
Female lawyers and bankers have formed an informal group to offer legal and financial advice to civilians, especially those trying to flee the country. “We want to offer our services to those in general need of legal routes or financial advice. We know the public have been put in a compromising position given a pandemic then a coup so free verbal consultations, advice, and going through documents with them is an extension of our efforts against the military,” explains Min Thwaw, a private lawyer practising in the capital, Naypyidaw.
“Many white-collar workers have lost their jobs and those females workers continue to be threatened by authority figures but the military need us [the workers] more than we need them. Without us, the banking system will collapse soon and economic crisis will remain irreversible – a price we are willing to pay to cripple the military,” she adds.
Economic uncertainty caused by the military takeover is likely to have a negative effect on the country’s $6bn garment and footwear industry. As a result, thousands of garment workers, predominantly young women, have taken part in demonstrations, urging the multinational companies they work for to denounce the coup and protect workers from being fired or even killed for protesting.
While some Western brands have remained silent over the military takeover in Myanmar, The Benetton Group, H&M, Primark and Bestseller all suspended new orders from factories there until further notice, following pressure from within and outside Myanmar. Despite this, trade unions in Myanmar stress companies are not doing enough and are demanding more “concrete action” like documenting and addressing human rights abuses with their respective governments and committing to partial payments of orders.
Many garment workers have left their family homes for the safety of other family members in order to participate in the strikes. They include 27-year-old Jasmine (who did not wish to give her full name) and five of her colleagues. They live together in a 250-square-foot flat in Yangon, surviving on food donations from the wider community as well as community money handouts – funds raised by local and international supporters of the CDM to finance the movement from afar – a portion of which they need to send back to their home villages to support their families as well.
These young women march defiantly together in large human chains with arms interlocked. Jasmine says this is an effective tactic adopted by garment workers who are protesting to ensure the police do not separate them from each other. “They yank protesters away to break the chain then abuse those they capture in jail or publicly.”
On February 18, about 1,000 garment workers producing clothes for Primark were reportedly locked in GY Sen Apparel Company’s factory for taking part in the protests by supervisors who sympathised with the military.
Upon breaking free after several hours, many of them were fired. Jasmine also says that she and her colleagues have been intimidated with verbal abuse by factory owners, who confront the women physically, they say, and who have been trying to fire them for protesting. For now, Jasmine still has her job, although many of her colleagues have been laid off. “These are the challenges we are faced with on top of a coup; borderline starvation and no pay. We need the companies we work for to denounce these heinous acts, recognise what we are going through and protect us,” she says.
Since the women live together, they have been easy targets for the military and factory owners. During the day, the workers liaise with activists to gather information about locals collaborating with the military by providing details about people’s whereabouts and public gatherings. This way, they can find out about potential morning break-ins into workers’ homes and abductions by the military and police carrying out military orders. As the evening sets in, workers quietly gather in one house to make plans for the next day’s protests. The military blacks out the internet every night from 1am to 9am and has banned all social media to stop protesters from informing each other about arrests or possible military targets. It is meticulously tracking telecommunications. It also imposes a strict overnight curfew and deploys soldiers with orders to shoot on sight anyone who breaks it.
Jasmine and her friends have heard frightening rumours about people being shot or abducted if they are found to be breaking curfew. The women, therefore, move carefully on foot from one house to another in the dead of night to relay crucial information regarding potential break-ins, abductions and to make plans for protests.
“We cannot afford to risk brushing off anything heard through the grapevine as hearsay. Nobody is here to protect us but ourselves,” says Jasmine.....The LGBTQ community: The LGBTQ community has also participated in the protests, marching with rainbow flags. “We know they despise our identity so we offer them the highest form of indignation, standing united and proud in the skin we feel most comfortable [in],” says 30-year-old trans woman Diamond.
Diamond believes that the LGBTQ protests have encouraged more people to come out as gay or trans.
“People come up to join marches then disclose this is their first time being publicly trans or gay because it is an opportune time to be true to who they always have been.”
However, the LBGTQ protest efforts were cut short at the start of March when the military began a crackdown on the community by raiding homes and detaining members.
Out of fear of surveillance and arrests, Diamond and several of her friends from the transgender community have either fled the country or gone into hiding.
“As a trans woman, I want the future generation of Myanmar to know the LGBTQ community risked everything and stood valiant against the military,” she says.....Sexual violence as a military tactic: Protests against a male-dominated military that has no women at all in its senior ranks and very few (0.2 percent) in the rank and file, have come at a great cost to women. Activists say that military and police have manhandled, groped and sexually harassed female protesters.
“If you’re leading a large crowd, they will try to grope your breasts from behind to physically remove you or, at the very least, will try to unbutton your blouse with their baton,” says Daisy. “Women who have gone into custody have been subjected to unnecessarily prolonged strip and search, as well as groping.”
Sexual violence is nothing new in military operations in Myanmar. It has been used to crack down on the Rohingya Muslim population since 2017. Instances of gang rapes by soldiers, forced public nudity and humiliation, and sexual slavery in military captivity have been reported by the Rohingya population, according to investigations by the UN.
With violence against protesters escalating – and no sign of the protests stopping – Daisy says she fears the military will use mass rape tactics “as a last resort tool any moment now”.Nandar, a 26-year-old feminist activist from Shan State, claims Myanmar is culturally a deeply patriarchal society where the military sees itself as the “father” of the nation, assuming the “dominant and masculine role”.
“By nature of a patriarchal system, social hierarchies are formed through hyper-masculinity and deeply conservative views that consider women subservient,” she says.
The lack of women in the senior military ranks, she says, indicates the absence of women’s voices in the political sphere and further marginalises them, reinforcing stereotypes and transferring a woman’s importance in the political space to passive social roles instead.
Nandar, who does not wish to give her full name for fear of reprisals, says: “The progress feminism made [under democracy] allowed women to see the value of their participation in every sector, moving the country forward. But under a misogynistic military which renders women entirely invisible, we will enter a dark future. Democracy took us one step forward but returning to dictatorship is taking us five steps back.”
Despite all the odds, women have used their momentum to vocalise their opposition to patriarchal control and the lack of democratic freedom in the country. They have been the backbone of the protests and are promising not to back down..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-04-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Burmese women's organisations, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The first meeting of the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs under the National Unity Government was held on 18 April 2021.
The meeting discussed the current needs and various issues concerning women, youth and children and decided to endorse policies to proceed enforcing them immediately.
Discussion Summary
• The predicament of women, youth and children of the minorities including the Rohingyas whom the military committed ethnic cleansing missions against,
• The commitment to take action against the military for its human rights violation upon the women, youth and children during the coup resistance and transformation of power,
• The commitment to stop the abovementioned violation of human rights,
• To provide the best possible assistance to women, youth and children affected by the civil war,
• The needs for the youth who are protesting,
• To initiate rehabilitation programs in education, health including mental support for women, youth and children who have suffered from the SAC’s brutal actions.
The meeting decided to strategize on the issues and cases that were discussed from one month to six month.
The Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs will take consideration of the voice of the people and make amendments according to the people’s concerns and needs....အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအဖွဲ့၏ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနတစ်ခုဖြစ်သော အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ ပထမအကြိမ်အစည်းအဝေးကို ဧပြီလ ၁၈ရက်နေ့တွင် ကျင်းပပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သည်။
အဆိုပါအစည်းအဝေးတွင် အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်များ၏ လတ်တလောလိုအပ်ချက်များ၊ ၄င်းတို့ရင်ဆိုင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသော ပြဿနာများအား တင်ပြဆွေးနွေးခဲ့ကြပြီး အခြေခံမူဝါဒများချမှတ်ကာ အမြန်ဆုံး အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်ရွက် နိုင်ရန် လုပ်ငန်းစဥ်များချမှတ်ခဲ့ကြပါသည်။
ဆွေးနွေးတင်ပြချက်များအရ စစ်အာဏာရှင်ဖိနှိပ်မှုအောက်တွင် လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုများကို ခံစားခဲ့ရသော ရိုဟင်ဂျာလူနည်းစုအပါအဝင် လူမျိုးစုအသီးသီးရှိ အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်များ၏ အခန်းကဏ္ဍ၊ အရေးတော်ပုံကာလနှင့် အသွင်ကူးပြောင်းရေးကာလအတွင်း အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်များအပေါ် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများအား အရေးယူနိုင်ရန်နှင့် ယင်းသို့ချိုးဖောက်မှုများဆက်လက်မဖြစ်ပေါ်စေရန်၊ ပြည်တွင်းစစ်ကြောင့် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းနေထိုင်ရသော အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်များအား ကူညီပံ့ပိုးရန်၊ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင် ရွပ်ရွပ်ချွံချွံတိုက်ပွဲဝင်နေကြသောလူငယ်ထု၏ လိုအပ်ချက်များ၊
စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အာဏာသိမ်းမှုနှင့်ပြည်တွင်းစစ်အကျိုးဆက်ကြောင့် ထိခိုက်နစ်နာခဲ့ရသော အမျိုးသမီးများ၊ လူငယ်များနှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်များအား ပညာရေး၊ကျန်းမာရေးမှစ၍ စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာပံ့ပိုးမှုအပါအဝင် ပြန်လည်ထူထောင်ရေးလုပ်ငန်းများလုပ်ဆောင်ပေးနိုင်ရန်တို့ကို အဓိကဆွေးနွေးခဲ့ကြပါသည်။
အဆိုပါ ဆွေးနွေးချက်များကို အမြန်ဆုံးစတင်အကောင်အထည်ဖော်နိုင်ရန် တစ်လမှ ခြောက်လအတွင်း လုပ်ငန်းစဥ်ချမှတ်၍ ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဌာနအနေဖြင့် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီနိုင်ငံသို့ တက်လှမ်းရာတွင် အရေးပါသော ပြည်သူလူထုအသီးသီး၏ အသံကို အစဥ်တစိုက်နားစွင့်နေပြီး လိုအပ်ချက်များကို ဖြည့်ဆည်းပေးနိုင်ရန် အစွမ်းကုန်ကြိုးစားသွားမည် ဖြစ်ကြောင်း အသိပေးအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-04-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Children, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Discrimination against the Rohingya, National Unity Government (NUG)
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Sub-title:
Three rapists were jailed for 20 years with hard labour in a case that pitted a 36-year-old mother of four against the powerful military.
Description:
"Lodging a legal complaint pitted the 36-year-old mother of four against Myanmar’s most powerful institution, whose soldiers have long been accused by rights groups of using rape as a weapon of war in the country’s conflict zones.
The crime was committed in June in northern Rakhine state – the site of a nearly two-year battle between the military and the Arakan Army, which is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population.
“Many women like me have already endured the same thing,” Thein Nu – who has been given a pseudonym to protect her identity – told the AFP news agency. “If I didn’t reveal this, it could lead to many more in Rakhine [being abused].”
Her victory came after an initial denial from the military, which said she made up the allegations, and she still faces the glare of widespread social stigma, including from her husband who refuses to speak to her. Watershed moment?
“I am both happy and sad,” she said, still in disbelief that the military tribunal ruled in her favour.
“I don’t entirely believe this verdict will stop the rape and abuse against women in conflict areas because they (the military) are unreliable people with two faces.”
In a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing, the military on Saturday announced the verdict and sentence against the three rapists, trumpeting its own “transparent” investigation of the case.
But observers warned it is too soon to judge whether Thein Nu’s victory will be a watershed moment for the armed forces – which ruled Myanmar outright until 2011 and still holds sway over many aspects of life in the country..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2020-12-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rakhine, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar: Several thousand protesters marched in southeast Myanmar on Tuesday (Jul 28) to demand the military's withdrawal from the area and an end to rights abuses after soldiers allegedly killed an unarmed woman from the Karen ethnic group.
In a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing, the military confirmed that two soldiers had been arrested for the shooting of Naw Mu Naw, 40, and robbery of her gold jewellery in Dwe Lo township in Karen state on July 16.
The court-martial of the arrested men was already underway, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP on Tuesday.
But the killing has reignited anger in a state that has for decades been the scene of a bloody civil war between the military and ethnic Karen militants.
Naw Mu Naw's murder sparked a wave of protests over the last two weeks, but Tuesday's was by far the biggest.
An estimated 5,000 people turned out -- many dressed in traditional clothes and waving the Karen blue, white and red flag as they marched to state capital Hpa-an.
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"We demand the military withdraw because we're worried we might also be shot and killed," said 57-year-old Khwe Ni.
Karen National Union (KNU) rebels signed a ceasefire in 2012 with the military after more than 60 years of fighting, one of a number of groups to join the country's now flagging peace process.
Unrest has flared up again in a state divided into two parallel jurisdictions, one centrally run and one under governance of the KNU, which collects taxes and runs local police, schools and healthcare.
The Karen accuse the military of building roads and other infrastructure to encroach on their territory.
Zaw Min Tun told AFP the military would not withdraw from the area, but said "rules would be tightened", without giving further details.
Tens of thousands of Karen refugees still live in camps along the Myanmar-Thai border.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson called for the two soldiers to be handed over to a civilian court, condemning the lack of transparency in military trials..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Karen (Kayin) State, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific
Language:
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Sub-title:
The 44-year-old appears to be in stable condition at the Mrauk U hospital
Description:
"A mother of four was shot in the back while fleeing fighting near her home in northern Rakhine state on Monday.
Ma Tin Kyi, 44, is currently being treated at Mrauk U hospital. She was shot as she fled fighting in Pha Pyo, an ethnically Chin village in Rakhine's Minbya township that was hit by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) on July 20.
“She heard gunshots and fled her house but was shot in the back when she went outside,” Shwe Kyaw Tin, the victim’s brother-in-law, told Myanmar Now.
“Bullets hit every house in the village but no one was hurt except my sister-in-law,” he added. “Everyone else hid.”
Ma Tin Kyi is the mother of three teenagers and one 20-year-old.
She was first taken to Minbya hospital then later transferred to Mrauk U, where she is currently being treated. Relatives told Myanmar Now she is conscious and responsive but that the bullet is still lodged inside of her.
A military convoy traveling through Minbya to Kan Ni village via the Yangon-Sittwe highway was ambushed by AA troops about six miles from Pha Pyo that night, according to a statement released by the military on Tuesday.
Battalions arrived to support the convoy, the military said, and several Tatmadaw soldiers were injured in the ensuing clash.
Minbya township MP Hla Thein Aung told Myanmar Now shots had been fired from the nearby Kyein Taung hill, and that fighting near Pha Pyo is still ongoing.
“They are still firing artillery shells,” he said Tuesday.
Most of the more than 400 families in Pha Pyo, including Ma Tin Kyi's, are ethnically Chin. They have largely chosen to remain in the village for now, but they told Myanmar Now they are worried for their safety.
The AA has been fighting the Myanmar military for greater autonomy in Rakhine state since at least 2018. The military and central government have labelled the AA as terrorists.
On April 20, a WHO driver carrying Covid-19 swab samples to testing sites was killed in Minbya when his vehicle caught in fighting.
On July 16 the Tatmadaw announced a new “anti-terrorism” operation against AA insurgents in nearby Rathedaung township.
Two days later - after about a month of relative quiet - fighting in Minbya resumed.
An alliance of ethnic armed groups including the AA said in a July 21 statement that labeling the AA an “unlawful, terrorist” organisation only hinders the stalled peace process between the military and the several ethnic groups fighting for autonomy..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Women's rights
Language:
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Topic:
Crisis and Conflict , Disasters and Displaced Populations , Sexual Violence and Rape , Women and Armed Conflict
Sub-title:
End Assistance to All Military-Controlled Entities
Topic:
Crisis and Conflict , Disasters and Displaced Populations , Sexual Violence and Rape , Women and Armed Conflict
Description:
"The Japanese government should immediately cancel plans to donate money to purchase vehicles and communications equipment for the Myanmar police force, Human Rights Watch said today. The police force, which operates under the auspices of the military, outside the control of the civilian government, has a well-documented record of serious human rights violations.
On July 2, 2020, Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced a grant of 100 million yen (US$930,000) to the Myanmar police for the purpose of purchasing vehicles and wireless equipment for “protecting dignitaries.” The Foreign Ministry claimed the donations would “strengthen the Myanmar police’s ability to carry out public security measures,” create “social stability,” and contribute to Myanmar's “socio-economic development.” “It’s inexplicable that the Japanese government would try to curry favor with Myanmar’s abusive security apparatus by providing financial assistance to the police,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Instead of supporting Myanmar’s police, Japan should be helping the victims of rights abuses and ethnic cleansing by working with other donor governments to hold the security forces accountable.” Myanmar’s police acted as a pillar of repression during Myanmar’s 50 years of military rule, arbitrarily arresting dissidents and student activists, engaging in widespread torture, and creating a climate of fear in the country, Human Rights Watch said. The police remain abusive and unconstrained, in large part because the military-drafted constitution maintains military control of the police. The police operate under the authority of the Home Ministry, which is led by a minister who the constitution mandates must be a serving military officer, and operates under the de facto control of the military..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
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Description:
"Despite the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2015, Myanmar is still at war with itself as fighting in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states shows no sign of ending. The loss of human life, as well as the material destruction and shattering of local communities caused by the 70-year-long conflict, continues to incur heavy social and economic costs in the country.
While war affects all, it affects men and women differently. In any conflict setting, gender creates expectations and exposes individuals to different dangers and vulnerabilities. In Myanmar’s conflict areas, many boys and men have had first-hand experience of violence as soldiers and live with its physical and psychological consequences. In these regions as well, many girls and women face an acute danger of gender-based violence as their bodies are objectified for war purposes and human trafficking.
The different impacts of war on women and men have to be taken seriously to move the peace process forward and to design policies that address the long-lasting consequences of war. In Myanmar as elsewhere, decentralization is considered as a democratization tool, a means to achieving better government accountability in the delivery of public services and a gateway to women’s participation. The conflict and its political and economic legacies not only perpetuate, but may also reinforce gender practices, inequalities, and discrimination. If gender needs and inequalities are not addressed, the very success of democracy, the peace process, and decentralization in Myanmar will remain unequal for men and women.
In this piece, we bring together evidence from local communities to examine some of the impact of conflict on male and female populations. We collected evidence for this paper in 2018 and 2019 as part of an International Development Research Centre-funded project—a collaborative project between the University of Toronto and the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security. The research team interviewed local stakeholders such as women’s organizations, ethnic armed organizations, politicians, and government officials. It also conducted a survey of 2,747 household heads in Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Magwe (hereafter referred as the UofT-IDRC survey). This paper is not an exhaustive list of the impacts of conflict on gender, but highlights some of the themes that emerged frequently during our work.
Boys and Men: Fighting, Conscription, and Gender Expectations
Civil wars have significant impacts on both men and women. But boys and men often have a particularly direct, first-hand experience of conflict and violence through their experience as soldiers. Many of them have volunteered to join Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAO) out of loyalty to their ethno-national group and because of feelings of injustice and grievances against the government and the Tatmadaw. But mixed with these motivations are also gendered expectations about the proper behavior for men. Many communities and families expect men to assume the role of “protectors” of the community. In time of crisis, this expectation is only strengthened, which factors heavily in the decision of boys and men to join EAOs. In many communities, there is no stigma in joining an EAO, but boys feel a sense of responsibility toward the community and see their involvement in military activities as a source of respect..."
Source/publisher:
"Teacircleoxford" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
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Sub-title:
consider the specific vulnerabilities women face in Myanmar in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Description:
"Women are playing an indispensable role in the global response against the coronavirus pandemic. Acting as healthcare workers, scientists, researchers, social mobilizers, political leaders and caregivers, women are at the forefront of this fight. However, while everyone is affected by COVID-19, this pandemic amplifies pre-existing gender inequalities and makes women particularly vulnerable, a reality that policy-makers have yet to take into account.
In Myanmar, women face various obstacles as internally displaced peoples, garment workers, unpaid labourers, and victims of overarching conflict. Not only has COVID-19 affected these populations’ capacities to support themselves, the impact in these sectors serve to elucidate existing gender inequalities women face in Myanmar. This article was written as part of an International Development Research Centre (IDRC)-funded project–a collaboration between the University of Toronto and the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security–on gender and decentralization in Myanmar. Drawing on some of the data collected in Myanmar from 2018 to 2019, this text will reflect on women’s vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of a global pandemic.
COVID-19 in Myanmar
Myanmar’s healthcare system has improved drastically since transitioning to semi-civilian rule in 2011, but remains underfunded and understaffed. The COVID-19 crisis is thus taking place amidst an already overstretched healthcare system that faces important challenges, such as gaps in access between rural and urban communities; the lowest number of intensive care beds per capita among lower and lower-middle-income countries of the region (except Bangladesh)[1]; and fewer than 200 ventilators.
So far, the government of Myanmar’s response has been haphazard, at best. The country, most likely, has a higher number of COVID-19 cases than it purports. However, the actual number is difficult to assess given limited testing capacity and heavily regulated media. The government spokesperson Zaw Htay first responded to the pandemic by stating that “lifestyle and diet measures” protected Myanmar citizens from the coronavirus infection, reporting its first case only at the end of March. Although the government has distanced itself from these initial remarks, its response continues to be inadequate..."
Source/publisher:
"Teacircleoxford" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Description:
"...The first resolution on Women, Peace and Security, Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR1325), was unanimously adopted by United Nations Security Council on 31 October 2000. SCR1325 marked the first time the Security Council addressed the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women; recognized the under-valued and under-utilized contributions women make to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and peace-building. It also stressed the importance of women’s equal and full participation as active agents in peace and security.."
Source/publisher:
Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN)
Date of publication:
00-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
374.8 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Officially, rape hardly happens in Myanmar and domestic abuse is non-existent. The reality? Violence against women is so pervasive it is regarded as normal -- and as a result -- woefully underreported, says lawyer and activist Hla Hla Yee.
"Domestic abuse in Myanmar is regarded as a family matter and even if it is reported, the police fail to take action," she explains, adding that many still view it as a normal part of marriage that women must endure.
The UN has warned violence against women and girls is a "silent emergency" in the country, with incidents spanning groping on public transport to trafficking, and has called for a zero-tolerance approach in communities, police, and the justice system. Analysis by the Demographic and Health Survey suggested at least one-fifth of women were abused by a partner in 2016.
According to government statistics, there were 1,405 rape cases in 2017, up from 1,110 the year before -- around two thirds committed against children..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-03-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Topic:
film, sexism, gender, sexual abuse, cinema
Sub-title:
A recently released Myanmar horror film is crassly misogynist in its portrayal of sexual violence, but is part of a much broader trend in an industry dominated by male filmmakers.
Topic:
film, sexism, gender, sexual abuse, cinema
Description:
"WHAT IF Mya Mya, the lead character of the Myanmar horror film of the same name, released on February 6, were to enact revenge on the men who gang-raped her, not by menacing them as a forlorn ghost, but by seeking justice as a tenacious survivor?
For the moment, such a plot turn appears to be beyond the imagination of Myanmar filmmakers, who are virtually all male and prefer to portray women rape victims as either killed in the act or driven inexorably to suicide by the shame. Their death, after all, provides a handy motive for male lead characters to avenge them in thrilling feats of heroism.
One thing that saves the character of Mya Mya – a feisty Yangon factory worker and strike-organiser before her death – from further humiliation is that, while haunting the men who raped and murdered her, she does not do so half-naked, despite what the film’s titillating promotional poster might suggest. However, this is small consolation when the making of the film itself was a feat of sexual exploitation.
When the casting call for the three “rapist” roles was made last July on Facebook, many male users tagged their friends, saying with boorish humour that their friends would make good “rapists” and encouraging them to apply. Auditions for short-listed aspirants took place on September 8 in Yangon’s Kandawgyi Park in full view of the media and public..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights
Language:
more
Description:
"Two women, one pregnant, were killed and seven other people were wounded when shells hit a Rohingya village in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
The army rejected accusations from a local lawmaker, a villager and the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group, that the Myanmar military was responsible for the shelling at Kin Taung, two days after the United Nations' highest court ordered Myanmar to protect the Rohingya.
Maung Kyaw Zan, a member of the national parliament for Buthidaung township in northern Rakhine state, said shells fired from a nearby battalion hit Kin Taung village in the middle of the night.
"There was no fighting, they just shot artillery to a village without a battle," he told Reuters by phone, adding it was the second time this year that civilians had been killed.
Soe Tun Oo, a Rohingya villager living a mile from the village, told Reuters by phone that two houses were destroyed.
A military statement confirmed the deaths, but blamed the AA, a Rakhine ethnic rebel group which has been fighting for greater autonomy in the state for more than a year. Two military spokesmen did not answer calls seeking comment. "AA terrorists committed firing at Bengali villages with the use of heavy weapons and planting mines," the statement said.
The Arakan Army said in a statement on its website that there was "ample evidence" that the army committed the killings without giving specific details. It accused Myanmar's forces of "deliberate, false and misleading lies" aimed at discrediting the group.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the details of the incident.
At a press conference on Feb 3, the army objected to the story about the deaths that Reuters had published on Jan 25, saying the account was biased.
It referred specifically to the headline on the story, which blamed the army for the deaths, citing the member of parliament. It said it had filed a complaint to the Myanmar Press Council (MPC), which adjudicates disputes between authorities and news media..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-02-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Arakan (Rakhine) State, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Women's rights
Language:
more
Description:
"...Since 1999, MAP Foundation has supported migrant and refugee women in coming together once a month to challenge the isolation imposed upon them as “aliens” in a foreign country, in addition to social norms that consider women second to men with limited rights. Begun in Chiang Mai, these women-only spaces became very popular and were replicated along the Thai-Myanmar border. Today, migrant and refugee women from Myanmar of different ethnicities, ages, and occupations meet monthly in different areas called “Women Exchange,” these forums have become a network of information that can be spread throughout the migrant community and inform donors, researchers, and policy makers of the situation on the ground. While each WE organizes a committee to run itself, MAP provides financial assistance, trainings, and resources to facilitate capacity building on a range of topics, including sexual and reproductive health rights, living wage, women economic rights, and leadership development.
Source/publisher:
MAP Foundation
Date of publication:
2011-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Migrant women, Women's rights
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
5.83 MB
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Government-appointed investigators failed to meet alleged victims living in Bangladesh
Description:
"A Myanmar government-backed inquiry that dismissed allegations of genocide against the Rohingya has been condemned as a deeply flawed cover-up, after it failed to interview a single victim of rape.
The full report of the panel inquiry, which has been criticised by the UN, was not made publicly available. It is not clear how many Rohingya were interviewed by the panel.
An executive summary of the findings were released just days before the International Court of Justice, which is hearing a genocide case against Myanmar, is due to announce whether or not it will request for emergency measures to prevent further harm against Rohingya.
In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya people fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh following a military-led crackdown in Rakhine state in which villages were burned, women raped and thousands killed. A UN fact-finding mission later declared that the violence had “genocidal intent”. The long-overdue report by the Myanmar-appointed inquiry stated that it did not travel to meet any of the more than one million Rohingya refugees living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, blaming the neighbouring country’s government for failing to facilitate visits..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-01-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Women's rights, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Arakan Army (AA) has launched an investigation over the alleged rape of a Chin woman by one of its fighters in Paletwa Township in Chin State, a spokesperson for the ethnic armed group said on Sunday.
Description:
"Khaing Thu Kha, spokesperson of AA, said the probe against the alleged sexual abuse is being carried out but did not provide additional details. “We are investigating the case. We will take harsh actions if our members really abused villagers and women like what they claimed,” he said.
“We will go to the village and meet with the community leaders to find out whether what they said is correct or not,” he said, adding a statement will be issued as soon as the investigation is completed. Aside from the alleged rape of a Chin woman, the Arakan Army fighters were also accused of abducting a school headmaster and two village officials in Paletwa who tried to stop them from abducting a young Chin woman on Tuesday.
The three captives were later found dead in the forest in the forest between Inn Kho Wa village and Sein Sin village, according to the Khumi Affairs Coordination Council, a local civil society group, in a statement issued Saturday.
Khaing Thu Kha expressed doubt about the truthfulness of the statement, saying the Tatmadaw appears to be creating racial problem between Rakhine and Chin ethnic people.
Colonel Win Zaw Oo, head of Western Command, said the actions of the Arakan Army in Paletwa is not acceptable and will be dealt with without delay.
“They are brash. We are carrying out clearance operation. Now we’ve heard that AA has blocked Kyee Lay village and we will deal with this matter,” he told The Myanmar Times.
According to local civil society groups in Chin, the AA is still holding captive Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) legislator U Hwei Tin and 15 other Chin ethnic people..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chin State, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Chin State
Language:
more
Description:
"For decades, ethnic women in Myanmar have documented acts of sexual violence committed against them in the hopes that, one day, perpetrators will be held accountable for their crimes. They had reasons for hope as recently as five years ago, when the government of Myanmar endorsed the international Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and Aung Sung Suu Kyi was elected the first woman leader of the country in a historic victory.
Today, violent conflict between military and ethnic groups remains as intense as ever, while wartime sexual and gender-based violence continues unabated and unpunished.
The direct and later indirect rule by the military since 1962 has had a long-term effect on the lives of women in Myanmar. They expected their fundamental rights to be restored under the new quasi-civilian arm of government, led by Suu Kyi. Instead, the web of military presence and business interests in ethnic areas of the country continue to devastate ethnic women.
In August, the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar released a report documenting cases of gang rape, sexual slavery, and other forms of sexual abuse in heavily-militarized areas in several states: Shan, Kachin, and Rakhine. Investigators found that sexual violence has become a regular tactic used against civilians by the Tatmadaw, the official name of the country’s armed forces..."
Source/publisher:
"Women's Media Center" (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-11-20
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Over generations, China’s one-child policy drove a demographic disaster that has sparked a devastatingly cruel trade.
Description:
"China has a bride trafficking problem. The country’s longstanding one-child policy and preference for boys created a huge gender imbalance. The difficulty many Chinese men now face finding wives, combined with a lack of protections in China, is driving a brutal business of selling women and girls from neighboring countries.
The Chinese government’s main response for many years seemed to be simply to ignore growing allegations about authorities’ complicity in these crimes. But the problem is becoming too big to ignore; the government’s stonewalling is gradually being replaced by a mixture of criminal justice and propaganda responses, neither of which get to the real issue of gender discrimination. The one-child policy, in force from 1979 to 2015, prompted many parents to feel that if they were permitted only one child, that child should be a son. This was driven in part by the expectation, particularly in rural areas, that daughters marry and join their husband’s family, while sons stay with, and support, their parents. Over generations this policy drove a demographic disaster: China now has 30 to 40 million more men than women..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2019-10-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
People smuggling - international standards and mechanisms, People smuggling - international standards and mechanisms, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"When it comes to protecting women from violence in Myanmar, what little difference a year makes. Last year during the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Government pledged to submit a Prevention of and Protection from Violence Against Women (PoVAW) Law to Parliament in early 2019 and give “priority and focus” to protecting women and children from violence. As we approach another 16 Days of Activism, the PoVAW law, in the drafting stage since 2013, has not yet been submitted to Parliament, making clear that protecting women from violence is far from a priority or focus for the current Government.
In a country with escalating rates of sexual violence, continued inaction puts women’s lives in jeopardy, and is a sad reminder that the gender inequality that leads to violence against women is also inhibiting the passage of a PoVAW Law which would protect them.
Statistics across Myanmar show an upward trend in reports of sexual violence, and one root cause of sexual violence is gender inequality. In August, a UN investigatory body declared that in Myanmar “[s]exual violence is an outcome of a larger problem of gender inequality and the lack of rule of law.” Myanmar is ranked 150 of 167 countries on the Georgetown Institute of Women Peace and Security’s Women Peace and Security Index and 148 of 189 on the 2018 UN Gender Inequality Index, two recent measures of women’s well-being worldwide..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-18
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, UN (CEDAW) documents on discrimination against women, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar plunged 31 places and remained the worst performer in the region on an index that measures women’s wellbeing and empowerment in homes, communities, and societies, according to a study released today.
Description:
"The Women, Peace and Security Index by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Safety slashed Myanmar’s rank from 119th in 2017 to 150th this year, marking the largest drop ever in the index.
The index ranks 167 countries in terms of inclusion, security and justice for women. It drew data from international organisations such as the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations, the World Bank, and others to provide comprehensive insights into women’s well-being and empowerment in each country.
“[Myanmar’s] rank of 150th reflects, among other things, the worst rate of organised violence in the region,” according to the index, which cited the “systemic, ongoing oppression and gross human rights violations” against minority Muslims in northern Rakhine State.
A woman activist in Myanmar, Ma Thinzar Shunlei Yi, said, “I wasn’t surprised the rank dropped while we are in the middle of armed conflicts.”
“The ranking highlights the situation that we all still have to be aware and strive to overcome an imbalanced society,” she added..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"A Myanmar woman trafficked to China seven years ago and who bore four children while in captivity has been returned to her family, an NGO worker and the woman’s sister told RFA Monday.
The 47-year-old woman, whose leg had been broken by her captors, was found by Chinese police and transferred to Myanmar authorities in the border town of Muse in Myanmar’s northern Shan state on Nov. 1, they said. She was then sent back to her home in Bago city in central Myanmar’s Bago region on Sunday.
Her relatives requested that RFA’s Myanmar Service not publish the name of the woman.
“She has a broken leg and is mentally disabled,” said Thaung Htun from the Muse Humanitarian Organization which helped the woman return home.
“She was trafficked, forced to get pregnant, and has had four babies,” he said. “She is now 47 years old. They must have thrown her out as she is getting old.”
Thaung Htun said Chinese authorities found the woman throwing away Chinese currency notes along a road, Thaung Htun said..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Trafficking: global, regional and national reports, Trafficking: Burma-specific material, Women's rights, Sex work, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Sexual violence carried out by Myanmar's security forces against the country's Muslim Rohingya minority was so widespread and severe that it demonstrates intent to commit genocide as well as warrants prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity, a UN report charged on Thursday (Aug 22).
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said it found the country's soldiers "routinely and systematically employed rape, gang rape and other violent and forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people in blatant violation of international human rights law."
Its report on sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar covers the Kachin and Shan ethnic minorities in northern Myanmar as well as the Rohingya in the western state of Rakhine.
The report, released in New York, charges that the genocidal intent of Myanmar's military toward the Rohingya was demonstrated "by means of killing female members of the Rohingya community, causing Rohingya women and girls serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting on the Rohingya women and girls conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Rohingya in whole or in part, and imposing measures that prevented births within the group."
Myanmar's government and military have consistently denied carrying out human rights violations, and said its military operations in Rakhine were justified in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents..."
Source/publisher:
"The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2019-08-23
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Sex work, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Human rights issues, UN human rights bodies and mechanisms
Language:
more
Description:
"Only a few months ago, Myanmar was shocked with news of the rape of a three-year-old girl who has since been given the pseudonym “Victoria”. Victoria was raped at a private nursery home in May. Then in September, she was able to testify through a video conference and identify her rapist.
“When the court showed the girl the picture of the suspects, she was able to point out the individual on the presented picture, and she was so angry seeing these pictures that she stomped angrily at them with her heel,” Victoria’s lawyer was quoted as saying.
News of the rape sparked outrage throughout Myanmar and brought attention to the rising number of rape cases in the country.
In February 2018, Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs released its previous year’s statistics on rape cases. The ministry reported that rape cases rose from 1,100 in 2016 to 1,405 in 2017, which includes a rise in rapes of adult women from 429 to 508 and rapes of underage girls from 671 to 897.
But more than that, the unfortunate tragedy that befell Victoria also helped to highlight the lack of knowledge regarding sex in Myanmar, as well as the urgent need to stop viewing sex education as a taboo topic but as a necessity.
Hla Hla Win, a former English teacher who founded Myanmar-based 360ed, a social enterprise that seeks to revamp education with technology, was recently quoted as saying that the case was “obvious evidence” that the country needed to seriously think of allowing its citizens to be exposed to the right kind of sex education..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-10-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights
Language:
more
Description:
"“Traffickers target youths who have bad reputations or low moral character more than youths who don’t understand.” This is what Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Director General U Win Naing Tun was quoted as saying recently when talking about human trafficking.
Most human trafficking in Myanmar involves the selling of women as brides to China.
Naing Tun’s words seem, at least at first glance, to have a tinge of victim-blaming in them. Especially as he went on to explain that unlike youth of “low moral character”, other youths could testify against their human traffickers in court, “so they avoid them”.
While it would be unfair to accuse Naing Tun of victim-blaming with such limited information available on the statements he made, it is also true that victim-blaming has been a rampant practice in Myanmar. Even people of authority have been reported as practicing victim-blaming, especially concerning rape.
Back in 2017, in an interview with local news, Lunn Aung San, the head of police in Ah Pyauk, Taukkyi township, said that most cases of sexual assault or abuse arise due to the woman victim’s choices..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-07-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, Sex work, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Topic:
China, Human Trafficking, Muse, Taunggyi
Topic:
China, Human Trafficking, Muse, Taunggyi
Description:
"A court in the Shan State capital of Taunggyi sentenced a woman accused of human trafficking to 80 years in prison last week, according to police in Muse.
Ma Htay Win was found guilty on four counts of human trafficking, each of which carries a 20-year sentence, according to U Kyaw Nyunt, an officer with an anti-human trafficking police force on the China-Myanmar border. The cases involved three women from Pekon Township and one from Sesai Township, all of whom who were trafficked into China.
Ma Htay Win was charged under Article 28 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law.
U Kyaw Nyunt said that the victims escaped, returned from China and then opened cases against Ma Htay Win.
“When they arrived at the border in Muse, they told us that they were from Pekon so we sent them to Pekon and they opened cases at the Pekon Police Station,” the officer said. “[Ma Htay Win] lured these women and trafficked them to Chinese men. She was the main person involved in this case.” According to the anti-human trafficking police in Muse, many cases have shown that Myanmar women are trafficked into China and then forced to marry Chinese men..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Trafficking: global, regional and national reports, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"Women and children lengthen their necks with 22-pound brass rings to 'look like dragons' as part of an ancient tribe in Asia.
It is a tradition in the Kayah state in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and makes the Kayan people distinct across ethnic groups in south east Asia.
Some women felt they were unattractive without the rings and others felt the pressure to wear them for visiting tourists.
The rings were used to protect people from being attacked by tigers and others claim they were a tribute to the group's 'dragon mother'.
Rings have also been traditionally seen as symbols of wealth and reserved for favourite daughters, as a more common theory.
Padung author Pascal Khoo Thwe told Channel New Asia that 'our mother was a dragon' and 'they have the same sort of neck'. He claims to have grown up with his grandmother wearing 14-inch high sets of rings.
Mu Lone, 88, told the Mirror how women felt they 'weren't beautiful without neck-rings' in her time..."
Source/publisher:
"Daily Mail" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-10-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Karen (Kayin) State, Children, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Padaung (Kayan)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Traffickers are increasingly preying on the despair of women who feel they have no choice but to seek work across the border.
Description:
"Conflict in Myanmar's northern state of Kachin is forcing more people from their homes.
A ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army ended in 2011.
Since then, instability has been putting many families at risk, including women who are being trafficked to China..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Kachin State, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Trafficking: Burma-specific material
Language:
more
Description:
"International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide "Rape as a Weapon of Wars and Genocides, Past and Present in the Region"..."
Source/publisher:
"Free Rohingya Coalition"
Date of publication:
2019-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Topic:
Khawng Nu’s story
Topic:
Khawng Nu’s story
Description:
"This story was originally published on Medium.com/@UN_Women
Across the world, millions of women and girls live in the long shadows of human trafficking. Whether ensnared by force, coercion, or deception, they live in limbo, in fear, in pain.
Because human trafficking operates in darkness, it’s difficult to get exact numbers of victims. However, the vast majority of detected trafficking victims are women and girls, and three out of four are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Wherever there is poverty, conflict and gender inequality, women’s and girls’ lives are at-risk for exploitation. Human trafficking is a heinous crime that shatters lives, families and dreams.
On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, three women survivors tell us their stories. Their words are testament to their incredible resilience and point toward the urgency for action to prosecute perpetrators and support survivors along their journeys to restored dignity, health and hope.
Karimova comes full circle.
When she was 22 years old, Luiza Karimova left her home in Uzbekistan and travelled to Osh, Kyrgyzstan with the hopes of finding work. However, without a Kyrgyz ID or university degree, Karimova struggled to find employment. When a woman offered her a waitressing job in Bishkek, the capital city in the north of Kyrgyzstan, she welcomed the opportunity..."
Source/publisher:
UN Women via Reliefweb
Date of publication:
2019-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Trafficking: resources, specialist organisations and guides to the mechanisms, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on
Language:
more
Description:
"SUNY Cortland hosted two women activists from Myanmar on Thursday, Sept. 5, for a day of conversations about the collision of faith, feminism and ethnicity in their country, which is struggling with longstanding inequality among various groups of people.
Thet Su Htwe, M.D., a Muslim doctor who runs sexuality education programs that go against conservative cultural norms, and Kyaw Thein, a member of Myanmar’s oppressed Rohingya minority who faced discrimination in the male-dominated field of civil engineering, met with the campus community during several events throughout the day.
Two of the events were open to the public, who were invited to attend free of charge.
“Being Muslim and Female in Myanmar: Two Perspectives,” was presented by Htwe and Thein as a sandwich seminar from noon to 1 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.
“Education in Myanmar and the Challenges of Diversity” featured Htwe and Thein in a panel discussion from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 104. Moderated by Jeremy Jimenez, a Cortland assistant professor of foundations and social advocacy, the panel also included Thamora Fishel, associate director of Cornell University’s Southeast Asia Program; Rhoda Linton, a longtime advocate for women’s education and empowerment in Burma; and Cornell University doctoral students..."
Source/publisher:
"SUNY Cortland"
Date of publication:
2019-08-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific
Language:
more
Topic:
Rape or other sexual violence
Topic:
Rape or other sexual violence
Description:
"During the 2018 rainy season, Naw H--- was raped by a close male relative in A--- village, Ta Nay Hsah Township. He lured the victim into his hill farm and raped her in his hut.
Naw H--- has an intellectual disability. She did not tell anyone about the rape, but the village leaders questioned her when she started showing signs of pregnancy. At first, she did not tell them who the true perpetrator was, but she ultimately accused her relative after giving birth to a child.
The village leaders arrested and interrogated him on April 27th 2019. He admitted that he had raped Naw H---. Therefore, the village leaders subjected him to physical punishment, after which he was released. The perpetrator was not brought before a formal court of law.
The victim received no compensation and still lives in the same village as the perpetrator. Currently, Naw H--- is staying with another close relative, and her child was adopted by someone living abroad..."
Source/publisher:
"Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)"
Date of publication:
2019-09-09
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Karen (Kayin) State
Language:
Format :
pdf
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156.81 KB
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Description:
"Authorities on both sides of the border have failed to stop the trafficking of hundreds of women from Myanmar to China, says a new report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday.
The 112-page report, titled Give Us a Baby and We’ll Let You Go: Trafficking of Kachin ‘Brides’ from Myanmar to China, documents anecdotal evidence from 37 victims of the trafficking trade who later escaped, and several families of trafficking victims. The women, originating from Myanmar’s northern Shan and Kachin States, were typically sold for between $3,000 to $13,000 after being lured across the border by the promise of good jobs.
Many of the victims testify to being locked up, raped and forced to bear the children of their captors.
The report’s author says that China’s now abolished one-child policy, which began in 1979, is a major cause of the current trafficking crisis because it created a gender imbalance in China. Forced to have only one child, Chinese parents often abandoned female babies or had sex-selective abortions in favor of males, leading to a shortfall in the female population of an estimated 30 to 40 million..."
Source/publisher:
"Time"
Date of publication:
2019-03-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Women's rights, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Trafficking: Burma-specific material
Language:
more
Description:
"1. In its report to the Human Rights Council in September 20181
(hereinafter “the 2018
Report”), the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (hereinafter
“The Mission”) concluded that “rape and other sexual violence have been a particularly
egregious and recurrent feature of the targeting of the civilian population in Rakhine,
Kachin and Shan States since 2011”.
2. The Mission found that sexual and gender-based violence was a hallmark of the
Tatmadaw’s operations in northern Myanmar and in Rakhine. These violations, for most
part perpetrated against ethnic women and girls, were used with the intent to intimidate,
terrorise and punish the civilian population and as a tactic of war. The Tatmadaw was
overwhelmingly the main perpetrator.
3. Two years after the “clearance operations” against the Rohingya population in
Rakhine, and one year since the publication of the Mission’s findings, accountability for
these egregious acts remains elusive. The Mission felt compelled to issue this thematic
report, further exposing these grave violations that the Mission considers amount to war
crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.
4. In examining the situation of sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar, the
Mission also reviewed the situation of gender inequality in Myanmar more broadly. It
found a direct nexus between the lack of gender equality more generally within the country
and within ethnic communities, and the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence.
Impunity for gender-based violence in Myanmar is exacerbated by underlying gender
inequality. Ethnic women and girls are doubly victimised: as women and girls and as
members of ethnic minority communities.
5. In its 2018 report, the Mission found that men and boys have also been victims of
sexual and gender-based violence by security forces. On 23 April 2019, in its resolution
2467, the Security Council recognized that sexual and gender-based violence also targets
men and boys in armed conflict and post-conflict settings, as well as in the context of
detention settings, and in the context of those associated with armed groups. Violent
conflict impacts men, women, boys, girls and those with diverse gender identities
differently. While there is an increasing awareness of the importance of gender in efforts to
build sustainable peace, much of the focus has been on women and girls. The experiences
of men and boys have not been understood well. Against this background, the Mission
conducted further investigations into the situation of sexual and gender-based violence
against men and boys in the context of Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts and found that they have
been subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, especially in the context of detention
settings. The physical and psychological consequences are severe and far-reaching,
exacerbated by the stigma attached to male rape..."
Source/publisher:
The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/CRP.4)
Date of publication:
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Statements, reports, press briefings and webcasts on Myanmar by fact-finding entities mandated by the Council, Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) - UN/Myanmar documents, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Women's rights, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
736.97 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ နှင့် ကျား/မ အခြေပြု အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများနှင့်၊ တိုင်းရင်းသား ပဋိပက္ခများက လိင်အုပ်စုတစ်စုစီကို တမျိုးစီ ကွဲပြားစွာသက်ရောက်ပုံ။ (အကျဉ်းချုပ်)...(၂၀၁၈) စက်တင်ဘာလတွင် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကောင်စီသို့ ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့သော အစီရင်ခံစာ (ယခုမစ၍ "၂၀၁၈ အစီရင်ခံစာ") အတွင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာ သီးသန့်လွတ်လပ်သော နိုင်ငံတကာ အချက်အလက်ရှာဖွေရေးကော်မစ်ရှင် (ယခုမစ၍ "ကော်မစ်ရှင်က" "(၂၀၁၁) ခုနှစ်မှစ၍ ရခိုင်၊ ကချင်နှင့်ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်များရှိ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများကို ပစ်မှတ်ထားသော ကျူးလွန်မှုများတွင် မုဒိမ်းမှုနှင့်လိင်ဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများသည် အလွန်အကျွံဆိုးရွားပြီး၊ အဖန်တလဲလဲ ဖြစ်ပွါးနေသော လက္ခဏာတရပ်ဖြစ်သည်"ဟုကောက်ချက်ချခဲ့သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/CRP.4)
Date of publication:
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Statements, reports, press briefings and webcasts on Myanmar by fact-finding entities mandated by the Council, Myanmar Documents submitted to CEDAW by civil society organisations, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Women's rights, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
295.93 KB 467.77 KB
more
Description:
"1. In its report to the Human Rights Council in September 20181
(hereinafter “the 2018
Report”), the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (hereinafter
“The Mission”) concluded that “rape and other sexual violence have been a particularly
egregious and recurrent feature of the targeting of the civilian population in Rakhine,
Kachin and Shan States since 2011”.
2. The Mission found that sexual and gender-based violence was a hallmark of the
Tatmadaw’s operations in northern Myanmar and in Rakhine. These violations, for most
part perpetrated against ethnic women and girls, were used with the intent to intimidate,
terrorise and punish the civilian population and as a tactic of war. The Tatmadaw was
overwhelmingly the main perpetrator.
3. Two years after the “clearance operations” against the Rohingya population in
Rakhine, and one year since the publication of the Mission’s findings, accountability for
these egregious acts remains elusive. The Mission felt compelled to issue this thematic
report, further exposing these grave violations that the Mission considers amount to war
crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.
4. In examining the situation of sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar, the
Mission also reviewed the situation of gender inequality in Myanmar more broadly. It
found a direct nexus between the lack of gender equality more generally within the country
and within ethnic communities, and the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence.
Impunity for gender-based violence in Myanmar is exacerbated by underlying gender
inequality. Ethnic women and girls are doubly victimised: as women and girls and as
members of ethnic minority communities.
5. In its 2018 report, the Mission found that men and boys have also been victims of
sexual and gender-based violence by security forces. On 23 April 2019, in its resolution
2467, the Security Council recognized that sexual and gender-based violence also targets
men and boys in armed conflict and post-conflict settings, as well as in the context of
detention settings, and in the context of those associated with armed groups. Violent
conflict impacts men, women, boys, girls and those with diverse gender identities
differently. While there is an increasing awareness of the importance of gender in efforts to
build sustainable peace, much of the focus has been on women and girls. The experiences
of men and boys have not been understood well. Against this background, the Mission
conducted further investigations into the situation of sexual and gender-based violence
against men and boys in the context of Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts and found that they have
been subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, especially in the context of detention
settings. The physical and psychological consequences are severe and far-reaching,
exacerbated by the stigma attached to male rape......မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာနှင့် ကျား/မ အခြေပြု အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများနှင့်၊ တိုင်းရင်းသားပဋိပက္ခများက လိင်အုပ်စုတစ်စုစီကို တစ်မျိုးစီ ကွဲပြားစွာ သက်ရောက်ပုံ။..."
Source/publisher:
The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/CRP.4)
Date of publication:
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Statements, reports, press briefings and webcasts on Myanmar by fact-finding entities mandated by the Council, Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) - UN/Myanmar documents, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Women's rights
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
736.96 KB 295.93 KB 520.23 KB
more
Description:
"The U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said the country’s military must stop using sexual and gender-based violence to terrorise and punish ethnic minorities. The Mission said the brutal tactic was still being employed in Kachin and Shan states, and was so severe in Rakhine State, during the “clearance operations” of 2017, that it was a factor indicating the Myanmar military’s genocidal intent to destroy the Rohingya population.
The Mission made its conclusions in a new report, released Thursday in New York, that soldiers routinely and systematically employed rape, gang rape and other violent and forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people in blatant violation of international human rights law.
“Extreme physical violence, the openness in which it is conducted … reflects a widespread culture of tolerance towards humiliation and the deliberate infliction of severe physical and mental pain or suffering on civilians,” the report said.
Marzuki Darusman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, said, “The international community must hold the Myanmar military to account for the tremendous pain and suffering it has inflicted on persons of all genders across the country.”
The Mission conducted interviews with hundreds of survivors and witnesses of sexual violence in Kachin and Shan States in the north, and in Rakhine State in the west, where the military’s “clearance operations” that began on 25 August 2017 led to more than 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. On the second anniversary of the beginning of the operations, this report is an important reminder of the continuing need for accountability...လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာနှင့် ကျားမ အခြေပြု အကြမ်းဖက်ခံရသူများအတွက် တရားမျှတမှုကို ကုလသမဂအချက်အလက်ရှာဖွေရေးမစ်ရှင် တောင်းဆိုချက်..."
Source/publisher:
The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/CRP.4)
Date of publication:
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Statements, reports, press briefings and webcasts on Myanmar by fact-finding entities mandated by the Council, Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) - UN/Myanmar documents, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on, Women's rights, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
736.96 KB 467.77 KB
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar's Penal Code, which dates back to the British colonial era, is vague and rarely used to prosecute cases of domestic violence. Its definition of rape is narrow and excludes marital rape.
Description:
"Cradling her one-year-old daughter in a house in southern Myanmar, 22-year-old Nu Nu Aye recalled the reasons her husband gave for beating her. She hadn't looked after his rooster. She wouldn't have sex with him.
In a meeting brokered by a village elder, he said he would beat her when "necessary". "His abuse got worse after that," she said. Finally, he tried to strangle her while she was sleeping.
In Myanmar, where the US-funded Demographic and Health Survey suggested at least one-fifth of women are abused by a partner - a figure activists say is likely an underestimate because many cases are not reported - there is no specific law against domestic violence.
Women such as Nu Nu Aye, whose account Reuters could not independently verify, usually rely on intervention by local leaders to arrange settlements with partners whose abuse is largely regarded as a private affair..."
Source/publisher:
"India Today" via Reuters
Date of publication:
2019-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Fresh attempt at repatriations agreed but refugees fear they will return to persecution and violence
Description:
"Myanmar and Bangladesh are to make a fresh attempt to begin repatriating the Rohingya Muslims who fled ethnic cleansing in Rahkine state in 2017, though the community say they have not been consulted.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled over to border to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in Rahkine state which saw villages razed, women raped and thousands killed. A UN fact-finding mission declared the violence had “genocidal intent”.
A document prepared by UN agency UNHCR to be sent to the Rohingya community to inform them of the repatriation plan said: “The Government of Myanmar has confirmed that 3,450 Rohingya refugees are eligible to return. This is a welcome first step as it acknowledges that your right to return is recognized.”
According to UNHCR, the Bangladesh government shared the names of Rohingya approved for repatriation with the UN agency on 8 August.
Louise Donovan, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Cox’s Bazar, said: “If any express the intention to return voluntarily, UNHCR will meet with them on an individual basis and in a confidential setting to confirm the voluntariness of their decision and complete a voluntary repatriation form. The refugees will make the decision themselves.”
She emphasised that “refugees who decide to exercise their right to return must be able to return to their places of origin or a place of their choice.”
However, the situation is complex as UNHCR have no access to Rahkine state so are unable to verify first hand the conditions the Rohingya would be returning to. “Responsibility for ensuring conditions are conducive for safe and dignified return rests with Myanmar,” said Donovan..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian"
Date of publication:
2019-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Statelessness, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific, Women's rights
Language:
more
Description:
“Women and their partners still need accurate information about contraceptive choices. In some circumstances, women cannot exercise their #rights and #choices to access to contraceptive services.”
At ICPD25, What’s Changed in Myanmar in the area of sexuality education, and what’s the Unfinished Business?..."
Source/publisher:
UNFPA MYANMAR
Date of publication:
2019-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on
Language:
more
Sub-title:
ROHINGYA WOMEN SPEARHEAD WORLD REFUGEE DAY COMMEMORATIONS
Description:
"Rohingya refugees took the lead in celebrating World Refugee Day – an internationally-recognized event commemorated around the world. In the Kutupalong Rohingya camps, 120 women and girls held a full slate of activities that ran throughout the day focusing on highlighting the unique culture of their homeland. The women were forced from Myanmar in mid-2017 and are housed in refugee camps just miles from the international border in Bangladesh.
In the weeks preparing for World Refugee Day, the women said they wanted to gather together as they did in Myanmar and cook and eat foods they used to enjoy. “One of the things most missed by the women and girls is the simple act of having community meals together – food is a very important part of the Rohingya culture, but when the fighting started and the movement restrictions happened, they had to stop,” said Gender-Based Violence Coordinator Rumpa Dey.
World Refugee Day offered an opportunity to plan a potluck-style meal where they sourced ingredients typical of their homeland and prepared dishes for an event at the IOM Women and Girls Safe Spaces. Finding ingredients was straight forward because Rohingya cuisine is similar to food in Bangladesh’s Chittagong region where the camps are located, said Dey.
The food unique to this cross-border area relies heavily on ingredients such as salted, dry fish; steamed and pureed aubergine; and a popular dish named Morichvorta made from crushed chilis. Other Rohingya dishes at the event could be easily seen at Indian and Bangladeshi tables such as chicken curry and egg fried rice. Dey explained that the women and girls also served Biryani, “which is a Bangladeshi dish and isn’t Rohingya at all, but was given to them in the camps and they liked very much.”
The celebrations were financed by the attendees’ own income earned by an arts and crafts fair held on 8 March. “A community meeting was held where they decided on their own how to spend the proceeds.” Dey highlighted that the effort is an act of empowerment on the part of the women: “It’s good to see women organizing and making decisions in this way.”
The event’s success also highlights the importance of IOM’s Women and Girls Safe Spaces. “There are a lot of cultural and social pressures and security concerns that act to keep women in the house and prevent them from being active in their communities. The Women and Girls Safe Spaces helps create a female-only environment where women can get together for events, to socialise or to learn new skills,” Dey added..."
Source/publisher:
reliefweb via International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Date of publication:
2019-06-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
IOM Burma/Myanmar, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Women's rights, Health of Burmese refugees and migrants
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
831.69 KB
more
Description:
What Future Do We Have?' Caught in the Crossfire of Myanmar's Northern Conflict, Civilians See Little Hope
Source/publisher:
Sky News
Date of publication:
2018-06-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - general articles, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Kachin State
Language:
more
Description:
"The content of the publication Development Without Women Is Not Development: Why Gender
Matters to the Asian Development Bank—drawn from various articles of the bi-annually published
SEAGEN Waves Newsletter: Gender and Development News—was produced by Uzma S. Hoque, former
senior social sector specialist (Gender and Development) of the Southeast Asia Department, Asian
Development Bank (ADB). Assistance provided by Karen Emmons in the preparation of individual
feature stories as part of a broader compilation of women’s narratives in Southeast Asia is recognized.
The support of Laurence Levaque, senior social sector specialist (Gender and Development), Rikard
Elfving, senior social sector specialist, Zonibel Woods, senior gender specialist and Southeast Asia
Department national gender consultants (former and present) Leavides G. Domingo-Cabarrubias,
Claire Angeline P. Luczon, and Joanne Carmela Barriga Quintana, in the coordination and completion
of the booklet, is greatly appreciated. Gender specialists, Chandy Chea, Theonakhet Saphakdy, Giang T.
Nguyen, and colleagues from ADB resident missions in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Myanmar, and Viet Nam have assisted in the collection of narratives and photos from their
respective countries. Administration support was facilitated by Maria Angelica Magali Vivar and Ruchel
Marie Grace Rea Roque-Villaroman.
Thanks is extended to the Department of Communications for their assistance in publishing
the booklet. Coordination support has been carried out by Ma. Katrina M. Fernando from ADB
Department of Communications. Proofreading services were rendered by Ma. Theresa Arago.
Edith Creus prepared the layout design for the booklet.
The women in Southeast Asia, whose stories are presented in the publication, are gratefully
acknowledged. Their narratives articulate aspirations toward empowerment and inspire ADB’s
commitment on accelerating progress in gender equality as prioritized in the ADB’s Strategy 2030:
Achieving a Prosperous, Inclusive, Resilient, and Sustainable Asia and the Pacific..."
Source/publisher:
Asia Development Bank (ADB)
Date of publication:
2019-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its watchers (Burma/Myanmar), Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women's rights
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.67 MB
more
Description:
"Representatives from the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) and UNODC convened for a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw to address necessary areas of reform in the MPF's response to gender based violence - a core tenet of which is the development of Standard Operating Procedures to make responses addressing Gender Based Violence (GBV) more effective.
The workshop marked an important step forward in the Government of Myanmar and the MPF's commitment to tackling the serious issue of GBV in Myanmar, and produced a firm foundation from which to move forward so that UNODC, working together with UNFPA and the MPF, can support the police in Myanmar to develop effective and efficient response guidelines for cases of GBV. Concluding with the commitment to further work on a strategy in the near future, the workshop was met with great optimism from all participants, and represented a decisive first step towards combating GBV in Myanmar.
"Violence against women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights," stated UNODC Myanmar's Country Manager, Mr. Troels Vester. 'UNODC congratulates the MPF for committing to do something about this issue, and thanks the police for taking it seriously."
The MPF Chief of Staff expressed in his opening remarks the MPF's commitment to reform their policies in line with democratic standards, and Mr. Vester recognised that participating in the workshop was the 'first step' towards doing this.
UNODC's National Workshop was designed to introduce the MPF to various response and investigative techniques for responding to cases of GBV. In collaboration with the UNFPA under the joint Women and Girls First Initiative, UNODC will provide support to the MPF to develop guidelines and standard operating procedures for such situations, and eventually draft a standardised response guide for all members of the MPF..."
Source/publisher:
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Date of publication:
2017-03-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNODC Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English
more
Description:
"UNODC today launched a new training series tailored for the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) on gender based violence (GBV), which will train officers and police instructors on all aspects of gender awareness and gender based violence, with a focus on case management and victim-oriented investigation techniques. The programme is being implemented by UNODC under the Women and Girls First initiative, which is being managed by UNFPA and of which UNODC an implementing partner.
UNODC has been partnering closely with the MPF to develop an effective response system to GBV by developing police standard operating procedures, training manuals, as well as the review of the police recruitment strategy to promote female participation in the MPF. UNODC will further facilitate training of instructors and frontline officers to prevent and respond to cases of violence against women in Myanmar and its conflict affected regions.
The first training event in Yangon was attended by 36 Myanmar Police Officers, who were actively involved in the learning process. It provided a promising example for future training and reflects the Government of Myanmar's continuing commitment to address violence against women.
In his opening remarks, Brigadier General Mya Win thanked UNODC for organising the session, and highlighted Myanmar's ongoing development process: "In this period of transition towards democracy, we are striving towards equal rights for women, and to respond to crimes against women, it is vital to provide training to the Myanmar Police Force", he said. "Change must start from within, which is why the MPF is trying to achieve greater gender balance by working to ensure that the roles of responsibility are distributed equally between male and female officers." UNODC Myanmar Country Manager Troels Vester drew attention to the gravity and complexity of violence against women by highlighting the fact that one in every two women murdered is killed by an intimate partner or a family member, and investigation in familial situations such as these can be hindered by family history and emotional distress. Despite such difficulties, Mr. Vester expressed his hope that "the training would allow officers to better investigate gender based violence, while respecting human rights."
The three-day workshop will also allow participants to better understand the psychological needs of victims/survivors of GBV. Daw Khin Zar Naing, Assistant Representative at UNFPA, stressed that in preventing violence against women and children, the MPF's important role is not just to protect the life and property of the people, but to also provide "psychological protection". "Those who have grown up in an environment of violence are often being shaped to also become people who perpetrate violence," she said..."
Source/publisher:
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Date of publication:
2017-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNODC Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights, Children, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English
more
Description:
"On July 5th, UNODC, UNICEF, UNFPA and the Union Attorney General's Office (UAGO) met in Nay Pyi Taw to discuss combating the rise in violence against Myanmar's women and children. The high-level needs assessment workshop on 'Effective Prosecution Responses to Cases of Violence Against Women and Children' aimed to assess the needs of Myanmar's prosecutors in effectively prosecuting and supporting victims of gender based violence (GBV) and child cases.
During the workshop, dozens of representatives from the UAGO took part in group discussions on the challenges law officers face in responding to cases of violence against women and children. Challenges included inter-agency cooperation, the referral process for survivors, evidence-gathering, and addressing language barriers in courts for ethnic minorities. Exchanges were also made between representatives from UNODC, UNICEF, the UNFPA and the workshop participants on best practices and opportunities to strengthen the justice sector's ability to protect survivors, enact justice, and ensure fair trials.
The workshop builds on a growing history of cooperation between UNODC and Myanmar's criminal justice sector on responding to GBV. Since 2016, a partnership between UNODC and the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) has resulted in several officer trainings on gender and gender-based violence awareness, with a focus on case management and victim-oriented investigation techniques.
The UAGO workshop was in line with the UN's own efforts at reform by promoting inter-agency collaboration and adherence to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Addressing SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 16 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals, the joint workshop between UNODC, UNICEF and UNFPA was a successful in utilizing individual UN mandates and strengths to promote an integrated approach to the issues.
In his keynote address, his excellency U Tun Tun Oo, Union Attorney General, stressed how important it is to bring justice to survivors. The Union Attorney General's message highlighted the importance especially in light of figures released earlier this year by the Ministry of Home Affairs, showing a significant rise in the number of reported cases of sexual assault.
To an audience featuring representatives from the UAGO, civil society organisations and the press, the Union Attorney General expressed the Myanmar Government's resolve to "better protect women and children in the future against violence directed at them".
Speaking at the event, UNODC advisor Marie Pegie Cauchois recognised the timeliness of the workshop. The Child Rights Law is expected to be adopted by the Myanmar Parliament later this year and the Prevention of Violence Against Women Law is still being drafted. She highlighted that, "for the successful implementation of these laws, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, capacity building of the justice sector will be needed".
In ending the workshop, UNODC, UNICEF and the UNFPA thanked the members of the justice sector for their active participation and recognised the importance of hearing and exchanging with practitioners to identify needs and avenues for cooperation moving forward. They also shared their readiness to continue work with the UAGO in developing training and other required materials..."
Source/publisher:
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Date of publication:
2018-07-05
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNODC Burma/Myanmar, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children, Women's rights, Children's Rights - studies
Language:
English
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Description:
"The 25th of November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Violence against women and girls continues to be one of the most widespread and systematic violations of human rights. For far too long, we have lived in a society where women and girls who experience violence are blamed and their testimonies are systematically put in doubt. The voices of millions of other women and girls continue to be silenced or muffled due to systemic injustice. UNODC confronts gender-based violence by enhancing the capacity of police, prosecutors, judges and other members of the criminal justice system to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. In 2018, UNODC Myanmar, with support of the UNFPA Women and Girls First Initiative, carried out a number of training workshops with the Myanmar Police Force and with the Union Attorney General's Office. The training covered gender awareness, understanding root causes, myths and stereotypes of violence against women, preventive approaches and survivor centered and gender-sensitive responses to criminal investigations and trials.
Through discussions at these training events, police officers and prosecutors highlighted the need for a coordinated multi-sector criminal justice response to gender-based violence. Criminal justice responses work best when health, social and other sectors join the common effort to protect and empower women and hold perpetrators accountable. To this end, UNODC supported the Myanmar Police Force in hosting the first Inter-Agency Workshop on Coordinating Policing and Justice Responses to Gender-based Violence, held on 19-20 of November in Nay Pyi Taw. Members of Supreme Court of the Union, the Union Attorney General's Office, the Myanmar Police Force, the Ministry of Health, and the Department of Social Welfare met to discuss coordination challenges and strategies to improve responses to cases of violence against women and girls. Special attention was paid to ensuring that all solutions put the needs and the security of the victim first, while ensuring the right to a fair trial for all. The meeting was also coordinated with UNFPA and UNICEF and attended by UN Women and WHO..."
Source/publisher:
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Date of publication:
2018-11-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNODC Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific
Language:
English
more
Description:
"For International Women's Day, UNODC joins millions of women around the world in celebration of their social, political, economic achievements. This year's international theme "Think equal, build smart and innovate for change" advocates for innovative ways in which we can advance gender parity in all sectors and empower women and girls. Myanmar's country celebrated International Women's Day with a leadership training aimed at women farmers, cooperative board members and UNODC staff. The participants are part of UNODC's Alternative Development sub-programme. This programme is based in Southern Shan State, and aids farmers in switching from producing opium crops to growing coffee. This also included the establishment of a coffee cooperative, "Green Gold". A major achievement of the programme in 2018 was the modification of the statute of the cooperative in order to allow for a greater and more active participation of women within the cooperative. The administrative board of the cooperative is composed of 16 active members, with an equal participation of men and women. #BalanceforBetter emphasizes innovation as a critical tool to challenge inequalities and to accelerate gender equality through women's empowerment. It is through innovation that the Green Gold Cooperative was formed, especially through introducing a gender-balanced administrative board.
As Joelle Charbonneau, UNODC Gender Advisor, commented, "I can say proudly that you all have already made an important advancement towards gender equality, with the modification of the composition of the Administrative Board of Green Gold and the creation of committees at village level with an important participation of women. My invitation is to continue working in that direction, together with your husbands, relatives and friends."
The International Women's Day leadership workshop was aimed at the female representatives of the cooperative, as well as other female farmers and staff in leadership roles. The workshop began with a panel of speakers, including women from the Gender Equality Network, the Shan's Women's Organization Network, the Women's Development Society and the Women Entrepreneur Association from Shan State. The women spoke about their experiences in starting their own businesses, promoting their ethnic group's culture and literature, fighting for education, and advocating and working with the government to promote women's rights and leadership. Participants also engaged in a leadership workshop and discussed challenges and solutions on achieving women's equality within their daily roles..."
Source/publisher:
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Date of publication:
2019-03-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNODC Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma
Language:
English
more
Dr. Hnin Shwe Zin Hlaing
Source/publisher:
IOM Myanmar
Date of publication:
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
IOM Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description:
"Seng Moon’s family fled fighting in Myanmar’s Kachin State in 2011 and wound up struggling to survive in a camp for internally displaced people. In 2014, when Seng Moon was 16 and attending fifth grade, her sister-in-law said she knew of a job as a cook in China’s neighboring Yunnan province. Seng Moon did not want to go, but the promised wage was far more than she could make living in the IDP camp, so her family decided she shouldn’t pass it up. In the car, Seng Moon’s sister-in-law gave her something she said prevented car sickness. Seng Moon fell asleep immediately. “When I woke up my hands were tied behind my back,” she said. “I cried and shouted and asked for help.” By then, Seng Moon was in China, where her sister-in-law left her with a Chinese family. After several months her sister-in-law returned and told her, “Now you have to get married to a Chinese man,” and took her to another house. Said Seng Moon: My sister-in-law left me at the home. …The family took me to a room. In that room I was tied up again. …They locked the door—for one or two months.… Each time when the Chinese man brought me meals, he raped me…After two months, they dragged me out of the room. The father of the Chinese man said, “Here is your husband. Now you are a married couple. Be nice to each other and build a happy family.”
My sister-in-law left me at the home. …The family took me to a room. In that room I was tied up again. …They locked the door—for one or two months.… Each time when the Chinese man brought me meals, he raped me…After two months, they dragged me out of the room. The father of the Chinese man said, “Here is your husband. Now you are a married couple. Be nice to each other and build a happy family.”
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2019-03-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Trafficking: Burma-specific material, Women's rights, Reports about women of Burma by national, regional and international NGOs, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Kachin State, Sexual orientation - Discrimination based on
Language:
English
more
Description:
''After the Myanmar military launched its campaign of ethnic cleansing in August 2017, Human Rights Watch researchers spoke with Rohingya women and girls from 19 villages in Rakhine State who had been raped by security forces. We witnessed their deep pain, shame, and distress, born not only from the recent violence but also from the chronic fear, persecution, and neglect long faced by the Rohingya.
In every case of sexual violence described to us, the perpetrators were uniformed members of the security forces – mostly soldiers, some police. All but one of the rapes were gang rapes, often involving groups of soldiers who also sometimes stripped, beat, bit, laughed at, and taunted their victims. Women described soldiers in boots kicking them and beating them with rifles. Fifteen-year-old Hala Sadak had considerable scarring on her leg from where soldiers had stripped her naked and then dragged her from her home to a nearby tree where, she estimates, 10 men raped her from behind.
We documented six cases where military units committed “mass rape” of villagers, gathering women and girls in groups and gang raping them, sometimes then locking them in shelters that they set on fire. Many rape victims were murdered.
And yet, despite the overwhelming evidence of these and other grave crimes, the Myanmar government continues to assert, as it did in its report to this Committee, that there is “no evidence to support these wild claims.” Civilian and military authorities continue to shield soldiers and their commanders from prosecution.
Myanmar’s recent submission to the Committee of denial after denial is a dark document. It shows outrageous disrespect for survivors of rape, for the truth, and for the work of this Committee. It’s an affront to accountability for vicious crimes, and to ending the military’s use of fear – including by rape – to reach its objectives. Widespread sexual violence has long been a hallmark of the Myanmar military’s culture of abuse and impunity, and it is this profound lack of accountability which allows it to continue...''
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch via " Progressive Voice"
Date of publication:
2019-02-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-03-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN (CEDAW) documents on discrimination against women, Women's rights, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
more
Description:
''Despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, the government of Myanmar denies their armed forces raped Rohingya women and girls in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the country since late 2017.
In a long-delayed submission to the United Nations women’s rights committee this week, Myanmar said there was “no evidence to support these wild claims” – a darkly risible denial to a very painful truth. The overwhelming evidence compiled by Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations, the media, and the UN uncovered gruesome accounts of rape, killings, and other crimes against humanity in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. A UN-backed fact-finding mission said the atrocities included genocidal acts.
Hundreds of Rohingya women and girls have said they were raped. I spoke to dozens of them. They risked both renewed trauma and stigma – with little real hope of remedy – to tell their stories. A 15-year-old girl, for instance, said soldiers dragged her out of her hut, tied her to a tree, and then raped her...''
Skye Wheeler
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2019-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Women's rights, UN (CEDAW) documents on discrimination against women, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
''On December 9, 2018 the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), an umbrella organization comprised of 13-member groups, celebrated nineteen years of activism for women. Over 500 people joined the ceremony for the anniversary, which was held at Inya Lake Hotel, Yangon, to pay tribute to generations of reformers and to commemorate the events that happened since December 1999, when the second forum of the Women’s Organization of Burma was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The goal of this summit was to encourage a dialogue that would maintain the spirit of the Pang Long Agreement – an understanding reached in 1947 which sought to make Burma a Union of equal and independent states but was never implemented. The women in attendance at the summit further explored their ideas and views on how to overcome long-ingrained gender stereotypes they believed were holding the country back from progress. A platform was needed to give women of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds a voice. Thus, the Women’s League of Burma was established...''
Nang Kham Awn, Maggi Quadrini
Date of publication:
2019-01-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Women's rights, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Description:
''Another year has drawn to a close and the global calls for the end of violence against women and girls which occur every November 25th on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women are still fresh in our minds. It led us here at the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) to reflect on the progress (or lack thereof) we have seen over the past year in Burma in protecting and promoting the rights of women and young girls.
What we have seen has been dissatisfying to say the least. Official police statistics and community-based organizations (CBOs) continue to report an upward trend in reports of sexual violence against both women and children, and the increase in the number of reported cases involving children is particularly troublesome. In February, the Ministry of Home Affairs released crime statistics for 2017, which showed that 1,405 rapes were reported across Burma in 2017, including 897 cases against children—an increase of over 33% from the previous year...''
Janeen Sawatzky
Source/publisher:
TEACIRCLEOXFORD
Date of publication:
2019-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English
more
Description:
A fifteen-year-old girl, Naw M---, was raped by her brother-in-law Saw H---.The incident took place on Monday, 12 March 2018 at 11 PM in Poe Yay village tract, Kyainseikgyi Township.
This incident happened at night, when everyone was sleeping. Saw H--- approached his sister-in-law and took off all of her clothes while she was sleeping. She woke up with a jolt and realized that she had no more clothes on her and that there was a person on top of her. When she started shouting, Saw H--- put his hands over her mouth. She could not shout or even move because her brother-in-law was much stronger than her.
The perpetrator is over 30 years old. He was drunk when he raped Naw M---. He had a reputation for having a bad character and acting inappropriately towards his wife and his sister-in-law.
Naw M---’s sister did not hear or witness the rape. She was sleeping at the time. The next morning, Naw M--- told her sister that she was raped. Her sister confronted her Saw H--- about this, but he denied any wrongdoing. Instead, he threw a shot glass at her.
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
1970-01-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Discrimination against the Karen, Childrens's rights in Karen State - reports of violations, Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
667.11 KB
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Description:
''There’s a popular idea, perpetuated by colonialists, Western travelers, and national historians, that women in Myanmar have long enjoyed status equal to men. I have heard this myself from Burma experts who didn’t understand why I, a gender policy specialist, wanted to go to Myanmar. But historian Tharaphi Than, author of Women in Modern Burma, has a different view. There have been a few powerful women in Myanmar, she argues, but their stories, told again and again, have crowded out the stories of the unequal majority.
Yet, as I was also beginning to learn, Myanmar has a rich history of women who refused to play by the rules—journalists who kept writing, artists who kept painting, and soldiers who kept serving their country even when they were attacked, dismissed, and demeaned. Which is why I was here in Mandalay, to gather those less-told stories of remarkable women, past and present, for a children’s book that would inspire a new generation of Myanmar girls to dream big...''
Source/publisher:
Asia Foundation
Date of publication:
2018-10-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Women's rights, Human rights policies of various actors in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Description:
The world’s cities are growing at an unprecedented rate. The United Nations projects that 60 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2030 due to accelerating migration and urbanization. In ''Myanmar, as in other rapidly urbanizing countries, urban growth is placing increasing pressure on municipalities and other governing bodies to deliver quality public services that are responsive to local needs. In this environment, effective urban planning is of the utmost importance, but urban planning that is not inclusive, that overlooks or ignores the life experiences and unique needs of certain demographic groups, will inevitably deny those groups equal access to the social, economic, and political benefits of urban life.
The Asia Foundation has conducted the first multi-city survey in Myanmar that specifically focuses on the well-being and life experiences of urban dwellers. The pilot City Life Survey polled 1,400 residents of the cities of Yangon, Taunggyi, and Hpa-an with the aim of analyzing various facets of urban life in Myanmar—from work, public transit, and taxation to green spaces. It provides preliminary data for municipal leaders to become better informed and more responsive to their constituents’ needs. With gender-disaggregated data and an equal representation of men and women respondents, the report offers new insight into the different urban life experiences of these two fundamental demographic groups...''
Source/publisher:
Asia Foundation
Date of publication:
2018-08-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific
Language:
English
more
Description:
''According to a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) report, the Burma Army captured, tortured, raped, and killed six Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) female medics on July 11 after the Burma Army ambushed vehicles carrying the medics.
The Burma Army also killed one TNLA soldier in the onset of the attack, and another TNLA soldier and two civilians fled the Burma Army assault against the two timber trucks that transported the group.
Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 301 under Light Infantry Division (LID) 88 ambushed the vehicles as they traveled from Magwe Baw Bum to Oi Law Village in Namkham Township.
The medics were captured around 1330 on the 11th, and their bodies were discovered near a pipeline outside of Oi Law Village on July 14 with severe wounds to two of the medics’ heads, multiple cut wounds on their bodies and signs of mutilation and rape...''
Date of publication:
1970-01-01
Date of entry/update:
2018-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
more
Description:
"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict."
Nadia Murad, Denis Mukwege
Source/publisher:
Norwegian Nobel Committee
Date of publication:
2018-12-10
Date of entry/update:
2018-12-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women: discrimination/violence against, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Women's rights
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Sixty years of military rule in Myanmar has seen the critical role of women?s political participation marginalized. From an extremely low base, the 2010 general elections increased the opportunity for women?s participation in governance. The 2015 general elections presented another opportunity for a more inclusive representational government, and Myanmar saw a significant increase in the number of women parliamentarians. However, there remain substantial challenges to addressing the gender gap in political participation in Myanmar. Given the nascent but evolving context for women?s political participation in Myanmar, The Asia Foundation thought that it would be useful to document the experiences of the first generation of women parliamentarians to understand better their motivations and the challenges they face. We hope that the insights that they have about their own situations and what can be improved will be useful for the next generation of women?s parliamentarians as well as informing relevant support provided by government, political parties, and civil society organizations to increase gender equality in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
The Asia Foundation and Phan Tee Eain
Date of publication:
2017-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2018-04-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar, Women's rights
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.46 MB
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