She describes how people used to dismiss ‘Gen-Z’ as apolitical. “That’s wrong. They’re using all the resources they can (technology, art, music, dance) to express their concerns. They don’t want the next generation to blame them if they can’t win this fight.”
Naw K’nyaw Paw has been a women’s rights activist most of her life. She has worked for Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO), an indigenous women’s group with more than 65,000 members, since 1999. In 2013, she was elected its general secretary. Based in Thailand along the Myanmar border, Naw K’nyaw Paw has had a hard time sleeping since news broke of the military coup.
“I am thinking about those who are fleeing, those who are protesting and everyone against the coup calling for the restoration of democracy and the abolition of the 2008 constitution,” she said. (The constitution was drafted by the military and grants them political influence including for instance 25% of seats in legislatures.)
“I’ve always thought that women are constantly the ones making changes. They are bold, they have courage and they speak truth to power. They challenge the military dictatorship and organise people and, by doing so, live to be an example and inspire many around them.”
She urges the international community to listen to women’s voices on the ground, especially internally displaced people and refugees. “They are the ones who know the situation the best.”
Nandar, feminist activist, podcaster and storyteller
“I’m not doing well,” said Nandar, a well-known feminist activist who tells stories of women’s resistance through her podcasts. “I think that mentally and physically, myself and other activists are experiencing a similar feeling. The anticipation of worse things to come is heavy. This thought has been haunting us since the day the coup took place. We’re not grieving the fact that they took over, but that the military is capable of doing things to ruin our present and future lives. It’s overwhelming.”
Nandar says she is reading, playing her ukulele and exercising on her bicycle, to keep her mind and spirit fresh. She’s also talking to people to learn how the situation is impacting those in her community. She is adamant that conversations on dismantling the patriarchy continue.
Nandar has noticed that some of the placards protesting against Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military leader, are comparing him in a derogatory way to intimate parts of a woman’s body.
“These signs are sexist. They are degrading Min Aung Hlaing by degrading women’s bodies. I want to encourage people to protest with feminist values,” said Nandar.
“Women were never given the spotlight before, because the media was guided by patriarchal values and amplified the voices of men. I think it’s great that we are now finally seeing women for what they do, and how they contribute to society,” said Nandar.
“People who have never done activism are now getting involved in different ways,” she said. “What I love most is that the protests do not have a specific group of leaders. Everyone is out because they care and do not want this dictatorship to rule the country.”
Print
Macarena Aguilar Maggi Quadrini | Radio Free (2021-02-23T23:00:00+00:00) ‘We’re unstoppable’: Meet the women leading Myanmar’s protests. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/02/23/were-unstoppable-meet-the-women-leading-myanmars-protests/
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