In this first ‘Genderfocus Spotlight interview’, we talk with Nang Sam Pao, an activist who has been working for many years to promote human rights in Myanmar with a particular focus on gender issues. Nang Sam Pao tells us about the exciting developments from 2012 when Myanmar embarked on a period of democratic freedom, and then reflects on the traumatic events that followed the coup on 1 February 2021 and highlights what actions are now needed.
Can you start by telling us about the work that was being done in Myanmar to promote gender and human rights before the coup took place? What was the political context at that time?
Prior to 2010, I was working outside the country as part of an international staff team, but in 2010 a ‘so-called’ civilian government took power and I came back to Myanmar as I wanted to work as a gender advocate for gender and human rights, and that is what I was then able to do.
It was in 2010 that a civilian government lead by U Thein Sein took power but it was only really from 2012 that people in Myanmar could start to talk freely bout human rights, democracy, and gender equality. Before that time these were very sensitive words and issues. Then from 2015 for five years the country was led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
So from 2012 what progress and challenges were faced in the work you did related to gender? What progress was made in terms of international commitments?
In the country, from 2012 we started to talk about gender equality, human rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Gender-related networks started growing and women’s issues and participation were being increasingly emphasised.
In 2013 there was a special opportunity to contribute to the formulation of a National Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Women (NSPAW). The Gender Equality Network (GEN) and other women’s groups together with the United Nations Gender Theme Group (UNGTG) in close collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement all contributed to this ten-year plan from 2013-2022. It was the first policy document of its kind in the country that reflected an international agenda, so this was the first big achievement.
The second thing was the need for a ‘gender situation analysis’ as no such analysis existed in the country. Work on this was led by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MSWRR)supported by UN and ADB and it was published in 2015/16 and aimed to provide a baseline for NSPAW.
It was really good to see the development of a women’s rights movement and of a Women’s Leadership Programme which involved a growing collaboration between the Ministry, UN agencies, NGOs, CSOs, and networks.
Nang Sam Pao, a human rights activist in Myanmar
Another development that commenced in 2013 was the drafting of the Protection and Prevention of Violence Against Women Bill. This process has continued until now so it has been a long process taking more than 7 years so far, but with the coup, it is now unlikely to happen as we had hoped.
It was taking a long time to complete as the social and gender norms are deeply rooted in Myanmar society and prior to 2015, we had been under military control for more than 50 years. With this patriarchal background, it is difficult for gender equality and human rights to grow.
There was a lot of discussion between human rights advocates and those who defended gender stereotypes within the Ministry. Placing concepts like gender-based violence (GBV), domestic violence, emotional violence, ‘battered women syndrome; and consent within a law was a new concept for Myanmar so it was a very challenging process.
Women’s rights groups had to argue with the Ministries and especially with the Union Attorney General Office (UAGO). Actually, the Bill had been published in the newspapers in 2019 but due to the Covid pandemic it was not be discussed further in parliament and it remains pending, but a significant milestone had been reached.
Another important milestone was a commitment to Women’s Peace and Security (WPS). Previously sexual violence particularly related to armed conflict was a very sensitive issue in Myanmar, but gradually during this 8-year period, these issues were highlighted and discussed, and by 2018/19, the Myanmar government signed a joint communique with the United Nations to be implemented related to sexual violence and armed conflict. Once again due to the coup the current status of this communique is not known.
What were the in-country milestones?
These were also significant in-country milestones. In the international arena, the CSOs had been able to contribute to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women reporting done by the government. The 2nd and 3rd reports that had been submitted by the Government to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 2008 reported that ‘everything is fine’.
However, the reports submitted by 2016 (i.e. the 4th and 5th ones) were a bit different and included an analysis setting out where things had reached in relation to women’s rights and issues. This was an improvement in the State party reporting. Civil Society Organisations also submitted shadow reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and in contrast to the 2008 process, the Government and CSO representatives collaborated, and it was good to see this cooperation.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommendations satisfied the MSWRR and CSOs who both committed to their implementation and there was a joint committee comprising the government (MSWRR) and CSOs who committed to further implement CEDAW Committee’s recommendations, but with the coup on 1 February 2021, all this progress has gone. In summary, before the coup, the progress was slow but steady and, in many ways, quite remarkable. For example in 2018 the UN Gender Inequality Index was 148 but by 2019 it was 106, so there was a significant improvement.
Could you tell us from the situation analysis a bit more about the gender-related issues, and whether things are changing, and to what extent there is variation between ethnic groups?
As the country opens up gender is fluid and changing as is the society. There is more exposure to the international arena, and there is also significant advancement in the use of ICTs (including the Internet and mobile phones), though there is a significant difference between rural and urban settings and between ethnic groups.
In this new generation, the stereotypes are changing a little bit, but the fundamentals and root causes haven’t changed. The country is also very diverse with many ethnic groups who practice their own traditions and have their own norms and rules (i.e. customary laws). These still exist, and some of these practices are harmful to women, for example, women’s inheritance. In some ethnic groups, women are not entitled to inherit property. When a husband dies relatives take all the property from the widow. Also, if you are a girl child you are not entitled to inherit.
Another traditional practice is that if the husband dies the widow may be forced to marry the late husband’s brother, and if there is no brother then they may be forced to marry the father-in-law. So, women’s sexuality is not the right of the woman – it is with the husband’s side. In many places, especially in ethnic areas, when there is GBV (e.g. a rape case), local customary practices are applied. These are very harmful to women’s rights. When a woman is raped, she is forced to marry the perpetrator, and sometimes the woman is forced to accept compensation.
In some places, this could be a cow, or a chicken, or a requirement to provide alcohol to the whole village. These practices are very harmful to women, so women’s rights groups are challenging these types of traditional practices. For example, a women’s rights organisation NINU published a study criticising the Chin traditions that are harmful to women. Women’s involvement in decision-making is also very low in government and in the community. An example is that there are over 16,000 village regions and wards but only around 100 women administrators are involved, so this representation is very low, and a lot of work is needed to reach the 30% representation target.
GBV is another major issue, and there has not been a law for this, which is why human rights groups have been working on this, with domestic violence a major problem that affects 1 in every 5 women according to the 2015 analysis. Whilst there is progress, there is still a great deal of gender blindness in relation to women’s equal rights.
What was the response immediately following the coup on 1 February?
Firstly, women’s involvement in the protest movement has been incredible. In fact, women’s movements throughout Myanmar’s history for example in the 1988 and 2007 revolutions, have been amazing but were not properly portrayed.
After the coup took place on 1st February, a movement was initiated in Yangon around 4th/5th February by two young women including Ei Thinzar Maung, who is now serving as Deputy Minister for National Unity Government (NUG). Many women from across the generations participated in non-violent protests. Many have also participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)
Before forming the National Unity Government (NUG), elected parliamentarians formed the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). There are many women in both the NUG and the CRPH. In NUG a ‘Ministry of Women, Youth and Children Affairs has been established which is the first Ministry focussed on women in the countries’ history.
This Ministry is led by Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe who used to be an activist and former MP (2015-2020). She was also elected as Kayin Ethnic Affairs Minister in the 2020 general election. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also lead by a former activist, Daw Zin Mar Aung who was a parliamentarian from 2015-2020. She was re-elected in the 2020 general election.
In the country they refer to generation X as those who participated in the 1988 revolution, generation Y is in the middle, and Generation Z is now. These generations are working together and participating in the non-violent movement. The impact of the coup has been felt especially by women and children who suffer more as there are no rules and norms. There is a major impact from sexual violence, although in fact in the ethnic areas women have suffered from this for years.
Now there is tactical violence by the military against the women who protested and those who have been detained. There are many causes of assault, sexual violence, and rape by the security forces.
What is the situation in the prisons for women?
It is a kind of hell, especially for women and political prisoners. I was listening to this morning to Radio Free Asia (RFA) and a USA citizen was abducted and tortured.
This interview with RFA was shocking, and this is why people in Myanmar now call the military terrorists. One of my friends is still in the detention center. She was not given any meal for 4 days, and she was psychologically tortured. Security forces also are engaging in sexual violence, so it is very hard for women (men as well) in detention and investigation centers.
Looking towards the future what actions are being taken and what is needed focussing particularly on gender and human rights?
Firstly, thank you to the international community for supporting the movement. The good progress is that NUG has a legitimately elected government and a legitimate parliament (CRPH).
More urgent and immediate action is requested from the international community. Some mechanism is needed to stop the violence and brutality of the military. The international community also needs to support and recognise the NUG. It is good that they do not currently recognise the military (SAC), but they need to support the NUG and recognise its legitimacy.
The UN also needs to extend its legitimacy to U Kyaw Moe Tun as representative of Myanmar at the UN. In the upcoming UN General Assembly, there is a committee that will decide in September who can represent Myanmar. So, there is a need for international organisations to lobby the UN and other entities and other governments bilaterally or collectively.
The second need is to bring the military terrorists to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). There is an ongoing genocide case, but the international community needs to bring the military to the ICJ. There is also a need to support the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).
Support for this is needed as women’s rights violation cases have been documented and submitted to the IIMM and support of the international community is needed to bring this to the attention of the ICJ.
At present, with the advancement in the use of ICT, some embassies have issued statements and I want to thank these embassies for speaking out and recognising our pain. We also want to request the international community to respect our vote. We don’t need re-election. Our votes are valuable, and we have a legitimate government and parliament so please support NUG and CRPH.
Can you say a bit more about NUG work related to gender and human rights?
The Ministry of Women, Youth and Children Affairs has a website and short, medium, and long-term plans. The short-term focus is emergency response and humanitarian support. At the same time, they are developing policies, rules, and regulations related to the medium and longer-term. They have formed a research and development committee to support this process.
They are also incorporating gender concerns into a federal democracy constitution. Under NUG there is a Ministry of Federal Union Affairs. So, these ministries work together so that the federal constitution can be gender-responsive. The Women Ministry is also collecting a record of the cases of sexual and women rights violence. They compile these and refer them to IIMM and also to the Human Rights Ministry.
They recently issued a statement about sexual violence by the security forces, which it is hoped the UN will take seriously into account. After releasing this statement and following a call by UN Human rights personnel, there is a sense that the number of cases is decreasing so there has been some effect.
Guidelines for the armed forces to be gender-responsive have also been released by the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Women worked closely with the Ministry of Defence to develop these guidelines which relate to the behaviour of the ethnic armed groups, people’s defence forces (PDF), and a potential federal army.
In summary, what are your key messages for us to consider?
My three main conclusions are that:
- There was progress on gender equality, but this will not work in the future without a stable democratic government
- All the gender equality efforts might go to waste if the democratic government is not restored
- The international community needs to take action as the country is heading towards becoming a failed state. A mechanism is needed to take urgent and immediate action against the military terrorists, as day by day people within the country and especially in the armed conflict areas are suffering greatly.
We will win, we must win, we have to win, or we will never win and the military terrorists will torture us forever!