‘Our Movement is Unique for Women'

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Women who fled conflict and oppression in military-ruled Burma have become a potent political force during their lives in exile, says a leading women’s rights activist from the South-east Asian country’s Shan ethnic minority.

Nothing confirms this more than the fact that, the Women’s League of Burma, a network of 13 women’s groups in exile based in Chiang Mai, marked its 10th anniversary in December 2009. "Women’s participation is a must for any kind of peace and reconciliation in Burma," declares Hseng Noung, one of the founder members of the league.

Hseng Noung (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

"We have worked to create a political space and a democratic space for the voices and views of women from many ethnic groups to be heard in order to shape a better future for our country," adds the 48-year-old activist, who left her country in 1983 after some years with a separatist rebel group in Shan State, in north-eastern Burma.

Hseng Noung, who was WLB general secretary, is also a representative of the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN), which is known for its publication of a numbing exposure of rape being used as a weapon of war by the Burmese military. The shocking disclosures in the 2002 publication ‘License to Rape’ triggered condemnation by the international community, including the US government and the United Nations.

IPS interviewed Hseng Noung on the eve of her departure to New York to participate in a special tribunal examining the Burmese regime’s use of rape and violence against women in its military assaults on the country’s ethnic minorities.

Question: Ten years ago when you set up the Women’s League of Burma, what kind of space was there for exiled women from Burma to shape your country’s political agenda?

Answer: We didn’t see so much of women’s participation among the exile groups. And even when there was, there was little recognition of women’s contribution. There were women’s groups at the time that were active and had participated in the country’s affairs as they had done inside, like student activists. So we felt it would be better if we get together and create an organization to create more space for us, and then to enlarge that space.

Q: When the WLB came into existence, was it seen as a groundbreaking moment?

A: Yes. It was unique for a country with the kind of historical background like Burma. We felt the need for collective ideas and collective action for women to participate in political change in Burma, social change, and to secure gender equality. Advocacy was also important for us because working towards women’s development was community development.

Q: Now, 10 years after your organization was established, do you have reasons to celebrate? Have you made an impact?

A: Of course. We see more women participating in our activities and demonstrating new and better skills to deal with many political issues. One example was the participation of women when there were discussions to draft Burma’s new constitution. With their unique background from different ethnic areas, women contributed towards the discussion on what is best for national affairs and state affairs.

Our members come from areas where there is civil war, conflict, where issues like refugees and human rights violations of different forms under the regime have to be faced. The space we created through the Women’s League of Burma made it possible to bring these diverse issues and talk about them. This would not be possible inside the country.

Q: The conflicts that you mention reveal what a deeply divided country Burma is along ethnic lines. There are officially over 130 ethnic groups and creating unity among them has been a historical challenge. Was the objective of your organization to bridge these ethnic divides?

A: It is very clear that we want to build trust between us and we can do so by working together. We know it is so important for peace in Burma, for reconciliation in Burma.