An Open Letter to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Dear Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,

We, the Karen Women Organization are deeply heartened to see you travel outside of Burma with the confidence that you will be able to speak freely and return home safely. We understand you are attending and addressing the World Economic Forum in Bangkok and that a visit to the border might be possible. We would like to extend an invitation to you to visit a refugee camp on the Burma border so that our community can share with you our hopes and concerns about returning to Burma […]

Karen Women Organization Condemns the Attempted Rape of a 22-Year-Old Karen Woman by the Burmese Army

The Karen Women Organization today has begun caring for a 22 year old mother who was viciously attacked yesterday by two members of the Burmese Military. The two soldiers attempted to rape her while she was working to grow vegetables for her family. The victim has been badly beaten and drugged. She was only able to escape when nearby gunfire caused the soldiers to leave. This case of violence against a young woman in our community is particularly disturbing as it confirms previous reports of continued human rights violations against women […]

Statement of Karen Women Organization’ Second Central Standing Committee Meeting of the 5th Congress

The Karen Women Organization held its second Central Standing Committee’s meeting after the 5th congress from 26th to 28th January, 2012. 40 Representatives of 7 districts of Karen state, refugee camps, and special guests participated at the meeting which was held on the Thai-Burma border […]

Woman and Children Injured by Mortar Shelling on Thai-Burma Border: WLB Urges the Thai Government to Ensure the Protection of Civilians Fleeing Conflict

A mother and two young boys seeking refuge in Thailand have been seriously injured by shrapnel from mortars that landed across the Thai-Burma border on Sunday 30 January. The three injured are refugees from Karen State, Burma; they had been hiding in the jungle in Thailand, near to the border, to avoid having to return to their villages inside the conflict zone […]

Burma: The Current State of Women in Conflict Areas – A Shadow Report to the 22nd Session of CEDAW

The report focuses on education, health, State-perpetrated violence against women, and poverty, particularly as these issues relate to women in Burma’s rural conflict areas.

Burma’s ruling military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), in its various incarnations, has controlled the country since 1962. One of the SPDC’s chief preoccupations since it seized power has been to maintain “national unity and solidarity,” which it has attempted to accomplish through force […]

Walking Amongst Sharp Knives

A report that reveals previously unreported abuses taking place against ethnic Karen women in Burma.

The practice of the Burmese Army to execute village heads has led to traditional Karen culture being turned upside-down, with women now being appointed village chiefs as they are seen as less likely to be killed. […]

Pioneering women village heads targeted for systematic abuse by junta’s troops across Eastern Burma

Walking Amongst Sharp Knives reveals previously unreported abuses taking place against ethnic Karen women in Burma. The practice of the Burmese Army to execute village heads has led to traditional Karen culture being turned upside-down, with women now being appointed village chiefs as they are seen as less likely to be killed. However, this change […]