Statement on the 66th Birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

June 19th, 2011, is the 66th birthday of Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This is the first birthday she will celebrate free after spending fifteen of the last twenty years under house arrest. Since her release, she has enthusiastically continued her struggle with unwavering political conviction. Therefore, the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) would like to express our great respect for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and honor her on this special occasion […]

First Press Release of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children

The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) was inaugurated on 7 April 2010 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in the occasion of the 16th ASEAN Summit. The establishment of the ACWC is aimed at, among others, promoting the well-being, development and participation of women and children in ASEAN […]

Women In Burma Need International Support

By Zoya Phan

An outside observer of Burmese politics might assume women in Burma have made progress towards equality in a way that hasn’t happened in many countries.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the general secretary of the National League for Democracy, for example, leads the democracy movement, and she’s one of the most admired politicians in the world […]

Philippinas March in Solidarity with the Women of Burma

The women of Free Burma Coalition Philippines (FBC-Phils) held a rally to mark International Women’s Day, standing in unity with all the other women around the world in expressing their commitment to end injustice, impunity and all forms of violence against women.

FBC-Phils drew attention to the women of Burma who continue to suffer from all forms of abuses perpetrated by a brutal military government that is unelected and unwanted by their own people. The ruling military junta of Burma systematically uses rape as a weapon of war, victimizing women and children of different ethnicities all over the country […]

Putting Women Migrant Workers into ASEAN

Putting Women Migrant Workers into ASEAN: Are they not already in ASEAN working in the export industries? Are they not already supporting the middle and upper classes of ASEAN by providing cleaning and child care services? Are they not already working in significant numbers in agriculture, horticulture, entertainment, food processing, sales and a host of other important work? Indeed, the labour of women migrant workers is already in ASEAN, but the rights, the dignity, and the respect for women migrant workers is not yet there. However, with several important human rights processes evolving at this time, it is valuable for migrant women to be aware of the current instruments and mechanisms that protect their rights and understand how to engage in these international and regional processes […]

Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes against Women of Burma (Japan)

June 27th 2010(Sun) 1:PM to 5 PM
Aoyama Gakuin University, Hotei sitsu
Open to the Public
Information 03-3835-2110, 080-6787-0959

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 […]

Report on the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma

This report documents the themes from the testimonies of the 12 Tribunal testifiers – on sexual violence against women, on civil and political violations, and on social, economic and cultural violations of human rights in Burma […]

ASEAN gets commission for children and women

ASEAN officials inaugurated Wednesday the Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), to augment the human rights body established last year.

The ACWC has a mandate to, among others, develop policies, programs and innovative strategies vis-à-vis the rights of women and children in the region […]

Women’s Participation: The Pivot for a Peaceful Burma

The women of Burma face oppression on multiple levels. Under the military regime, women are barred from holding any positions of power. They must deal with the ongoing day-to-day realities of extreme poverty, as well as lack of healthcare and education. Their bodies have been used as battlegrounds throughout decades of conflict. Moreover, they must face societal gender stereotypes, according to which they are treated as subordinates and objects in their day-to-day life.

Despite palpable barriers, the women of Burma have worked tirelessly to take on essential roles in the fight for peace, stability and democracy in Burma. […]