Women activists hiding in Burma have called for the safety of all women living in fear and in hiding, by sending a report to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, the same day the Security Council discussed and expressed concern over gender-based violence.
Nilar Thein, a member of 88 Generation Students movement, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that their report focused on the lives of women in Burma and the discrimination, abuse and violence of the Burmese military government during the recent political unrest.
The report said that women inside Burma, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are facing a loss of civil and human rights and a lack of physical security. It accuses the Burmese junta of using violence, arresting and beating civilian women and nuns who were involved in the recent peaceful demonstrations.
Nilar Thein, who had to leave her baby behind when she went into hiding, said that the Burmese soldiers and their security forces were hunting down various women and taking them to undisclosed locations. Those arrested include women up to seven months pregnant.
“The military regime has been hunting down women activists women like common criminals. Several women are subjected to sexual harassment,” Nilar Thein said. “We fear for the lives of the women who were arrested by the Burmese authorities.”
The report has signed by four women activists, including two well-known women leaders who participated in the peaceful marches—Phyu Phyu Thin, a member of the National League for Democracy who is also known as a HIV/AIDS activist, and Nilar Thein.
For the sake of security the report was sent to the UN with only four signatures, but Nilar Thein stressed that it was sent on behalf of all women who are living in fear, hiding or facing violence in Burma.
“According to a cemetery caretaker, one pregnant woman was attacked by soldiers, bayoneted and then burned alive in the Yayway Cemetery in Rangoon,” Nilar Thein said.
In addition to the UN Security Council, the report was also sent to members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, US first lady Laura Bush, non-governmental organizations and women’s rights groups.
The women urged the international community to come and witness the crisis in Burma with their own eyes as soon as possible, and to help the Burmese women and who live under the constant threat of the Burmese junta.
The Security Council itself on Tuesday urged member countries, including offices within the UN institution, to increase female participation in the decision-making process and to take specific steps to protect women and girls from gender-based violence during conflicts.
Nilar Thein, a member of 88 Generation Students movement, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that their report focused on the lives of women in Burma and the discrimination, abuse and violence of the Burmese military government during the recent political unrest.
The report said that women inside Burma, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are facing a loss of civil and human rights and a lack of physical security. It accuses the Burmese junta of using violence, arresting and beating civilian women and nuns who were involved in the recent peaceful demonstrations.
Nilar Thein, who had to leave her baby behind when she went into hiding, said that the Burmese soldiers and their security forces were hunting down various women and taking them to undisclosed locations. Those arrested include women up to seven months pregnant.
“The military regime has been hunting down women activists women like common criminals. Several women are subjected to sexual harassment,” Nilar Thein said. “We fear for the lives of the women who were arrested by the Burmese authorities.”
The report has signed by four women activists, including two well-known women leaders who participated in the peaceful marches—Phyu Phyu Thin, a member of the National League for Democracy who is also known as a HIV/AIDS activist, and Nilar Thein.
For the sake of security the report was sent to the UN with only four signatures, but Nilar Thein stressed that it was sent on behalf of all women who are living in fear, hiding or facing violence in Burma.
“According to a cemetery caretaker, one pregnant woman was attacked by soldiers, bayoneted and then burned alive in the Yayway Cemetery in Rangoon,” Nilar Thein said.
In addition to the UN Security Council, the report was also sent to members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, US first lady Laura Bush, non-governmental organizations and women’s rights groups.
The women urged the international community to come and witness the crisis in Burma with their own eyes as soon as possible, and to help the Burmese women and who live under the constant threat of the Burmese junta.
The Security Council itself on Tuesday urged member countries, including offices within the UN institution, to increase female participation in the decision-making process and to take specific steps to protect women and girls from gender-based violence during conflicts.
