Nandar Gawali speaking at the University of York, U.K.
Hello everyone, it is lovely to have you all here. Thank you for being here today to learn about Myanmar, its political situation, and the contributions of women human rights defenders to the democratic movement, or rather, Myanmar’s pro-democracy struggle.
Please, laugh when you can—it will make me feel less lonely and less visible over here. Plus, I like to think I’m hilarious. I will be mainly sharing with you all the findings from the research paper that me and my dear friend and co-author, Maggie Quadrini, have written together on Women Human Rights Defenders Contributions to the democratic movement in Myanmar.
Why focus on women’s contributions? Because often, history becomes solely his stories, and we wanted to ensure her stories are documented, heard, and valued just as much. Their voices and contributions matter to society and to us.
Also, because patriarchy and dictatorship coexist dependently. One cannot sustain without the other. Without the participation and acknowledgment of women’s contributions, the revolution will not be completely successful. Ain’t no revolution without women, am I right?
Before I begin my talk, I must warn you that I do not remember one word from this book, not anymore. So, good luck to me. But I will do my best to tell my truth, my findings, the labor of love I put into this research about women human rights defenders.
I intend not to waste your time by sharing stories you can already find on the internet about Myanmar. Instead, I offer you the humanized version of it from my perspective.T hese stories are so limited in research papers that often minimize human stories into numbers, which do not do justice to the importance of storytelling.
On the morning of February 1st, 2021 my beloved country and its people’s lives were darkened by the rule of the dictatorship. From that day, none of our lives are the same. My life and mental health are not the same.
I stand here before you today feeling the utmost shame and guilt a person can feel for being alive, for being safe, for having breakfast this morning while my sisters and brothers are getting exiled, arrested, tortured, and killed every single day by the junta in the country.
2021 anti-coup protests
The first victim of the military coup was a woman protester named Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, a 20-year-old woman who worked at a supermarket.
Despite her brother’s objection to joining the protest, she joined and lost her life on February 14th. May her soul rest in power.
Her death, as devastating and heart-wrenching as it was for her family and many of us, became not only a symbol and inspiration for democracy and justice but also a feminist figure who knew her rights and fought and died for them.
Moe Sandar Myint, who has worked in garment factories for over two decades, became one of the first to lead a strike following the attempted coup.
In an interview with me, she told me that she began fighting injustice and oppression because, as a laborer, she and her co-workers endured discrimination every day: “I am a garment worker. I am determined to work for those who have been and are experiencing oppression and injustices like me. I will fight for the rights we deserve.”
Workers have been the most oppressed class throughout the history of Myanmar. She started a Workers Union Group to demand labor rights from factory owners in 2015, losing her job in the process.
Moe shared that workers always face injustices and exploitation through underpayment of wages and unscrupulous business practices. When the military seized power in 2021, laborers stood up along with her.
Shortly after the strike, she is now exiled in the “safe zone” without a job, far from her family and friends, but her fight for freedom did not and would not stop, she told me.
Her commitment to labor rights and democracy humbled me to the core and proved that many revolutions actually come from the working-class people who, like Moe said, are the most oppressed group in society.
Myanmar’s garment workers, 90 percent of whom are women, were among the first to stage walkouts and protests against the junta following the attempted coup.
Their defiance and refusal to contribute to an economy taken over by the Myanmar army sparked the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Workers from dozens of other occupations also refused to work: a protest cohort estimated to be 60 percent women, consisting of doctors, engineers, professors, nurses, and more.
Ashin from a rural area is both a student activist and an LGBTQ+ rights defender. After joining the Civil Disobedience Movement, her life took an upside-down turn when the police came to her dorm and forced her to leave.
“One of my biggest fears is not even them taking my life, but dying without anyone knowing my story. How they are erasing my presence, and the presence of my community breaks my heart.”
Htamine Taw Lan Yay (Our Sarong, Our Flag, Our Victory)
In Burmese tradition, women’s bodies and undergarments are regarded as inferior or impure and can cause men to lose their superiority or virtue, known as hpone, if they touch or even walk under sarongs.
The concept of hpone has always amused me—what kind of virtue is that which goes away because of a piece of clothing? I wonder if the one who invented this ridiculous concept realized that they came from a woman’s vagina? So, if they have the so-called hpone, the only logical conclusion is that the woman who birthed them has them therefore gave it to them.
Feminists and women human rights defenders in Myanmar utilized this deep-rooted misogyny against the military’s beliefs to their advantage during the revolution. They began by hanging traditional sarongs, underwear, and pads to slow down the patriarchal and military forces.
The Sarong Revolution, an idea born from a group of ethnic women, gained momentum on March 8, International Women’s Day, 2021, leading massive protests while thousands joined both online and in person.
For the first time, women came together to use their htamein (female sarong) as an innovative tool to defy the military and normalize and destigmatize women’s clothing.
The Sarong Revolution echoed a two-fold call by women to end military rule while drawing attention to the patriarchal elements of the culture, which have been long standing obstacles to women’s rights and equality.
This initiative also inspired the LGBTIQ+ community to demonstrate and stand up for their rights; some even revealed their identities for the first time in public.
As my beautiful sister and the director of the Gender Equality Network, Ma May Sabal Phyu, beautifully summarized this act: “This is not just a political revolution but also a cultural revolution.”
Armed Resistance
The involvement of women and their participation on the frontlines was initially rejected as it is widely said that. For this reason, some women who have picked up arms prefer to join all-woman fighter groups.
The Myaung Women Warriors, Myanmar’s first publicly announced all-woman fighter group, was established in 2021. They said to a reporter: “We march to break these stereotypes and to show that the hands that swing the [baby] hammock can be part of the armed revolution too”.
They refused to reduce their womanhood into domestic and motherly, which by the way is a very narrowed and dangerous notion that many societies uphold to cage women. Women are demonstrating that they are capable of many skills.
While women are also currently fighting on the frontlines, the increase in sexual violence as a weapon of war, rape, torture, and arbitrary detentions have taken a toll on their mental health and their lives.
Needless to say that in all the vital roles women are playing in the revolution and in the democratic movement in Myanmar, the main barrier they face remains the same: men.
Men hogging credit for women’s leadership and ideas in the revolution, men molesting and harassing women during strikes and protests, men imposing their faces and voices in the media, and those who write with subtle misogyny and sexism when talking about women. Men who would do anything to make sure women do not have power.
Feminism in Myanmar, like around the world, has made the progress of teaching girls and women to feel empowered, independent, fight for their rights and voice out their stories.
However, I still feel that we have yet to educate boys and men to stop raping, stop abusing, stop showing and threshing your genitalia to women’s bodies without consent, stop dictating women’s lives and choices, and to stop taking what’s not yours. Start holding up spaces for diversity and equality so that we can build a better and fairer future.
As the saying goes, “My truth is not your truth; your truth is not my truth. My truth doesn’t take anything away from your truth. Your truth doesn’t take anything away from my truth.”
I think it is time men have to start listening and acknowledging women’s truth. Women’s stories. Women’s journey without feeling threatened because I think they have done enough talking.
There are few men like my dearest brother, a poet, the chief commander of Bamar People Liberation Army (BPLA), Maung Saung Kha who are making conscious decisions to make sure that they do not perpetuate patriarchal practices in the revolution.
I think he is leading by being a remarkable example of what it means to be an ally in the feminist movement by having women in important and decision-making roles not just for tokenism at BPLA.
I cannot begin to describe how much I admire this man greatly for his consistency, responsibleness and hard work to contribute to the feminist movement in Myanmar.
The role of art
The activist and storyteller spirit in me was instilled by my mother’s storytelling. I was very young when my grandmother passed away. To keep her memories alive, my mother would often tell stories about my grandmother and what a kind and resilient woman she was. My mother also taught me that, “louder isn’t always better.”
I believe no one on earth is truly ever voiceless but rather silenced or chooses not to speak because speaking will cost them—their lives, their family, their career, etc.
But some of us will speak if and when the right platform, time, and place are given to us, and some of us create ways to voice our opinions, values, and contributions in artistic ways. During this revolution, many artists have said that rather than use weapons, they choose to “fight with their pens.”
Art is playing a vital role in the Myanmar revolution. Women creators like Kuecool (pseudonym) are using their art to fundraise for the Spring Revolution.
“I believe that revolution and art come together. Since I was a kid, my creativity has been full of rebellious manners. I am continuously drawing and contributing with my art since it’s important for this revolution.”
Art has become a resistance tool against the junta and keeps our hopes alive. Art is not just about portraying the pain, making it inspirational, or giving hope; it is also about accessibility because art has a universal language. It gives everyone a space to feel, connect, empathize, and act on it.
Oftentimes, we only talk and hear about the dying part of the war and forget the living part of it which I and many are doing right now under the coup. Living in constant fear of dying, the fear of losing your loved ones, and it is like how a palestinian woman once said: “It is not fear of one’s death. Sometimes, I die 10 times in a day.”
Many women in Myanmar, especially mothers and sisters, who are left behind at home suffered greatly with this fear and added: “From a socioeconomic perspective, the concept of ‘labor’ has led to disparities in and outside the home.”
Protesters who have not been arrested or joined the [People’s Defense Forces] often lose their partners to imprisonment or PDFs, and need to find jobs, take care of children, and work to shape the next generation in the current situation, often with increased decision-making power within the home. In the midst of war, women are the ones keeping life going as mothers, as daughters, as teachers, as doctors, as cooks, as breadwinners.
Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and the diaspora
Dr. Tharaphin Than, author of Women in Modern Burma, who I fangirl a bit extensively, shared the power of language and proverbs in an exclusive interview with me. In which she explained,
“Words or language we use everyday play a crucial and significant role in shaping people’s thoughts. They are what leads to stereotyping of a person, of an ethnic group, of a religion, of a country.
This is why we must revisit and question the expressions and language that have been ingrained in our minds. Why were these used? Who used them? When do they use them? For example is the term ‘စစ်ဘေးရှောင်’ (sit-bay-shaung, meaning ‘war refugee’).
This term did not exist before. It gradually became popular when the military government came into power. The term ‘စစ်ဘေးရှောင်’ is like avoiding food (‘အစားရှောင်’ – ah-sa-shaung), avoiding fat (‘အဆီရှောင်’ – ah-si-shaung), or avoiding sweets (‘အချိုရှောင်’ – ah-cho-shaung), which implies avoiding something that hasn’t yet happened.
In reality, ‘စစ်ဘေးရှောင်’ refers to those who have to flee from war, war victims, and those suffering due to war. It implies pre-emptively avoiding something that hasn’t yet occurred. The term serves to obscure the real and harmful impacts of war, which can kill people, sometimes deliberately suppressing one side.”
Eighty percent of the refugees around the world are women and children. Ninety percent of modern war casualties are civilians and 75 percent of them are women. We know that when war happens it is the innocent civilians that suffer the most, no matter who fights with whom.
A 17 year old Lalnunpuii girl and her fifteen-year-old brother were taken hostage along with 17 other people by the junta. Two days later, their bodies were found outside the village. Lalnunpuii was raped and killed while her brother body was burnt with hot water including his genetalia.
Her mother believed that this was done to them because they want to take revenge on their father who is part of the PDFs.
“She used to sassily dance around all the time. But she was not into dressing up. She used to idolise soldiers and would listen to songs all day that talked about soldiers who dedicated their lives for the country. She was brave and strong, and not scared of anything,” the mother described her daughter to BBC News.
I want to remember her that way as well. I want us to remember her as a fearless girl who loved listening to music and dancing .
Since the coup, 2.3 million individuals are internally displaced of which at least 1.2 million Rohingya have been displaced during violent and targeted campaigns led by the Myanmar military, with most fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.
Women have applied an intersectional lens to feminism, strengthening the bonds among Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs). Yasmin Ullah, a Rohingya activist who was just three years old when her parents left Myanmar for Thailand, shared: “We lived [without protection] for about 16 years before my father, an activist at that point, founded an organisation called the Burmese Rohingya Association of Thailand. He was connected to a couple of missionaries. They connected us further with private sponsors to help us come to Canada, which happened in 2011.”
Yasmin still has many of her family members back in Myanmar who are constantly suffering the weight of war. Many people who fled their country are living with a kind of family fear that the palestinian woman described, “dying 10 times a day.”
During a protest, I asked a woman who was standing next to me, holding the sign of “You Messed With The Wrong Generation” on why she joined the protest, why it was necessary for women to be out here.
Now to be truthful, I asked this question out of mild curiosity to know whether or not she is a feminist. Her response was simple yet captured the essence and voice of all the women who took part in the revolution.
She said: “Women have to take part of this. They must and they are, just like I am doing. Like we are doing. Because if the coup wins, it is not just men who will suffer, women too will have to face the disaster. Therefore, we must fight against the junta, together.”
Perhaps, this could be a way to define why gender equality matters because if you die, a little part of me dies with you too. If you win, I feel like a winner, too. If you fail, I will cry with you. If you dance, I will hold your hand. If you are human, I am too.
The Failing Feminist (a poem)
I am,
the failing feminist,
the bad feminist,
the angry feminist,
the guilty feminist that grew up worshipping the Lord Shiva
and still living under the coup
where they whisper, young girls can go to school
but have to be polite and nice and nod yes all the time
And I am tired of hearing how misogynists are still winning the battles
I am tired of feeling sorry and guilty for the rape, assaults, and violence that men caused
I am tired of seeing men not learning to evolve
I am tired of sleeping with the things around my neck
I am tired of talking about the period, and vaginas to an empty room
I am tired of building the courage for the change that no one wants to see
I am tired of living in the world that accommodate straight men’s needs
So, yeah, if someday I am silent instead of speaking up
Know that it is not because I don’t have a voice
It is because I am tired of being the bad and guilty feminist
Carrying the sins of racists, sexists, misogynists
Over my shoulders for 25 years
Waiting for my turn to spin the wheel
So, that I can come home to myself
I want to come home to myself
With hot chocolate in my favorite cat mug
Can you please shut up?
Coz I’d like to rest the fuck up
While my mother sings me a lullaby
Ma Nandar is a feminist activist, a storyteller, and a podcaster from Shan State. Her passion for justice and equity started early in life when she began to question the cultural norms in her community that were demeaning women’s and girls’ lives.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Purple Feminists Group and hosts the podcasts G-Taw Zagar Wyne (in Burmese) and Feminist Talks (in English).In 2020, she was named to the BBC 100 Women list. She has been selected for the CAHR Protective Writing Fellowship at the University of York, UK. In her free time, she enjoys walking, writing, reading, and watching comedies to rest and respite.
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