"Burma?s long tradition of principled and influential leadership by women carries on in the work of activists and social workers in exile The New Light of Myanmar, the Burmese junta?s main mouthpiece, recently reported on a meeting of the Myanmar [Burma] Women?s Affairs Federation to celebrate this year?s Myanmar Women?s Day. During the meeting, members of the pro-junta group denounced opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, as a destabilizing force and someone who ?has done nothing good for the nation.? The meeting ended with the chanting of slogans. Such is the sad state of women?s affairs in Burma, where an internationally-renowned woman of courage and conviction languishes under house arrest, while the junta pressures others to make scripted accusations and sing political slogans. It was not always so. Throughout history, Burmese women have played active and influential roles in Burma?s national and political life..." The article goes on to profile a number of important historical and contemporary Burmese women.