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No Soft Touch
By KYAW ZWA MOE Friday, October 5, 2007


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The women of Burma have always been a force to reckon with

As the mother of a four-month-old baby, Nilar Thein should be at home now, caring for her little daughter. Instead, she’s a fugitive with a price on her head, in hiding from Burmese government forces desperate to silence her and other outspoken activists.

Left to Right: HIV/AIDS activist Phyu Phyu Thin, Leading activist Nilar Thein, A woman activist during a protest, Naw Ohn Hla joins as protest, Mie Mie leads a Rangoon protest

For Nilar Thein, 35, it was a clear choice—whether to remain silent in the interests of her family or to join in the movement to bring democracy to Burma, knowing she risked jail and separation from her baby.

She took the second course of action, believing that in the long run it would benefit her daughter far more than if she had done nothing. By working for democratic change in Burma, she hoped to “bring about a bright future for my daughter,” Nilar Thein told The Irrawaddy from her hiding place.

“Only if we end this bad system will the future of Burma’s people, including my daughter’s, be bright,” she said. “I love my daughter. I had to leave her, but I believe she will later understand why.”

Nilar Thein fled into hiding when authorities rounded up leaders of the recent demonstrations against the government’s latest round of severe price increases. Her husband Kyaw Min Yu (aka Jimmy), was arrested and imprisoned, along with more than 100 other activists.

The young mother wasn’t the only woman to risk the wrath of the authorities and to place her family and her livelihood in jeopardy. Dozens of women from the 88 Generation Students group and the opposition National League for Democracy braved the taunts and brutality of thugs who broke up their peaceful demonstrations.

Among them was Mie Mie, mother of two children and a member of the 88 Generation Students group, as well as HIV/AIDS activist Phyu Phyu Thin, labor rights leader Su Su Nway and Naw Ohn Hla of the NLD.

Mie Mie, center, leads a Rangoon demonstration in August against fuel price increases [Photo: AFP]

Women have always been in the forefront of efforts in Burma to combat oppression and promote democracy, but their involvement has grown deeper and stronger since the late 1990s. They have shown themselves ever more ready to confront the authorities and defy successive crackdowns.

Their place in the pro-democracy struggle took on new importance when thousands of Burma’s menfolk were imprisoned or forced to flee the country at the time of the 1988 uprising. With compassion and total dedication they stood by their families while reinforcing the leadership of the weakened opposition movement—a truly heroic undertaking.

“An idea or action tends to come out of a feeling or suffering,” said respected Burmese author Kyi Oo. “They [Burmese women] have faced hardships and lengthy imprisonment. Their unusual dedication and sacrifice came out of such hardships.”

The 83-year-old veteran author of several books on Burma’s women expressed admiration for the efforts of Nilar Thein and her fellow activists, Phyu Phyu Thin, Mie Mie, Su Su Nway and Naw Ohn Hla.

Nilar Thein’s struggle for a just society is rooted in her experience of the 1988 uprising, when she witnessed how government soldiers killed, beat and arrested demonstrators outside her Rangoon home.

“I still hear those voices in my ears and see those scenes in my mind,” she said. “I desperately want to get rid of this evil system.”   

Su Su Nway, in blue jacket, struggles against security men trying to arrest her in a Rangoon demonstration in August. She managed to escape and went into hiding [Photo: DVB]

During a 1996 demonstration, Nilar Thein was prompted to slap Rangoon’s police chief, who repeatedly ordered his troops to beat her.



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