A Voice For the Voiceless
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The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice
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Portraits of Courage
Ayea Khaing – Burmese Women's Union
"One woman was kept in that separate special political section. My friend peaked through a hole in the door and she saw that there was a lot of blood dripping down from this woman's head. We also heard her screaming."
In Burma, men and women alike suffer from political repression of a traditional kind. The military government of Burma (also known as Myanmar) has become an international pariah because of the way it has suppressed democracy, brutalized opposition groups, and waged war against Burma's ethnic minorities.
Ayea Khaing left Burma in 1990. Before that, like so many Burmese young people, she and her brother were active in the protests against military rule. In July 1988, when she was just 17-years-old, she was taken in for questioning after taking part in the demonstrations. Two years later the opposition parties won a landslide victory in the elections, but the Junta refused to yield power and turned in fury on the democratic opposition. Ayea Khaing was jailed for a month. The last time she heard of her brother, he too was jailed. Ayea Khaing recalls conditions in jail:
"The situation in prison was not good. Although the women were separated from the men, the political prisoners were mixed together with the other prisoners in one big room. Behind the main room, there were some special cells just for political prisoners, some of whom are quite famous.
"The second time I was in prison they beat me after we demonstrated because of a lack of food and water. They also asked us to clean the walls but we refused to do this. Then they pushed all the women who were involved in that. My left eye was injured, but now it is better. After they beat me, they tried to force me to clean the walls, but I refused. I told them that I was injured and that I would not do that work. They also scolded us and asked why are you singing, because we were singing revolutionary songs.
"I also saw and heard others being beaten. For example, one woman was kept in that separate special political section, Daw Hla Hla Than, who was a second-year student. Before she was about to be moved to another section we heard a scream, then they closed all the windows and doors. I saw a little bit, but my friend peaked through a hole in the door and she saw more – there was a lot of blood dripping down from this woman's head. We also heard her screaming.
"We also heard voices from the men's prison. When we organized our protests and demonstrations we would communicate to the men's prison so we would all demonstrate on the same day. The conditions were worse in the men's prison than in the women's, they beat them a lot and we found out that three men were beaten to death. Some men spoke a lot about political situation; we would often hear their voices. We would worry a lot about the men.
"The authorities used psychology on us as well. They would not let any of the prisoners eat. Then they would say to the prisoners that it was because of our demonstration. They blamed us. So we stopped our demonstration at 4:00 and then at night we found out that three men had died.
"I met a woman from the Shan ethnic group in prison who had been a political prisoner for 13 years. She told me that she had been investigated by a branch of the military. They jumped on her stomach. She told them that she was pregnant, and if her baby died, that they would have to take responsibility. They didn't dare to continue and they stopped jumping on her. That same woman told me that she was questioned by the intelligence section. She said they have a room, and there are two snakes in one room so you can see the snakes, but they are not free in the room with you. But she said it still makes you scared because you are thinking they will do something bad to you with the snakes. She said they also have a 'water room,' where they can add water to make you afraid of drowning, to make you tell them want they want to know, like your contacts. She was inside the water for along time and she was unconscious until finally they took her out – she almost drowned."
Ayea Khaing continued her work on behalf of democracy from exile. At the end of 1990, she fled to the Thai-Burmese border where she attended teacher training in the refugee camp and worked in the information department of the main refugee organization. She wrote the women's programs for the Democratic Voice of Burma, which is based in Oslo, Norway. In 1997, she joined the Burmese Women's Union (BWU) (established in 1995), which is the main voice for Burmese women in exile.
The BWU is based in Mae Hong Song, Thailand. It has 300 members at the border, and is organized into four sections. These cover information; education (a nursery school) and income generation (weaving and handicraft); human rights training; and finance. The BWU also runs a working group at the borders for women ethnic leaders. Ayea Khaing is one of the BWU's five elected representatives from the border region and head of the BWU's foreign affairs unit, which disseminates information on Burmese women to the outside world. The unit is also preparing a report for the Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women (CEDAW). Outside the region, the BSU has branches in Japan, the United States, and Australia, and it is also developing an office in Europe.
It is not easy to conduct this kind of advocacy. With a Burmese passport, Ayea Khaing is repeatedly questioned when she travels abroad. Her parents are in Rangoon, but she is afraid to contact them for fear that it might expose them to reprisals. The last she knew, her brother was in prison – and that was about five years ago. She has no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Keth Mardy – Project Against Domestic Violence, Cambodia
"Old Cambodian traditions say the woman cannot leave her home even if the husband beats her every day."
The intensity of violence perpetrated against many women in Cambodia is breathtaking. Women suffer severe and unrelenting beatings – including punching, kicking, hair pulling, whipping with ropes, bamboo canes, metal rods and cords, immolation, rape, and gunshots. The Khmer Rouge experience, decades of war, and easily available weapons appear to have greatly increased the severity of the violence.
Cambodia's traumatic history is well known to the world. In over 20 years of war between 1970 and 1990, millions of victims suffered from violence of war. Between 1975 and 1979, up to two million people died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, by starvation, overwork, lack of medical care, or execution. People with education were targeted, and of hundreds of professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, only a handful survived. Now, well over half of the population is women (about 60 percent), with many women heads of households. Levels of education are very low. It is estimated that 25 percent of women have suffered from domestic violence.
Keth Mardy was a student in the capital of Phnom Penh until 1974. After graduation, she was unable to find work, and as the war intensified in Phnom Penh there were frequent bombings in the city. Thousands and thousands died. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge took over, another type of war began, and she was forced to walk over 200 kilometers to the province of Pursat. For three years, she worked in a single girls' work camp where she was forced to carry heavy loads of dirt to build a dam, from about 5:00 am to 6:00 pm with a half-hour break with a thin watery soup for lunch.
In 1978, Vietnamese soldiers pushed the Khmer Rouge out of Cambodia to the Thai-Cambodian border area, and a new government was installed in the capital of Phnom Penh. People living in Cambodia were cut off from the rest of the world, and a vicious border war began between the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government and the various forces on the border, including the Khmer Rouge, the royalists, and the republicans. Life was difficult, and after marrying in 1982, Keth Mardy finally fled to the Thai-Cambodian border and began working at the information office of one of the refugee camps. She worked on the radio program for the camp and learned about media resources.
Life in the camps was not easy. Even though the UN provided water and food, she had to carry her own water and cook food on a fire – there was not enough firewood. Keth Mardy herself admits that when she was working in the refugee camps, she did not realize that men did not have a right to beat their wives, since this was a common practice and it was a traditional view that men owned and controlled their wives. This tradition is still common today throughout Cambodia.
In 1992, after a peace agreement was reached between the warring factions in Cambodia, Mardy returned to Cambodia. She began working with the Ministry of Women's Affairs, where she worked on general women's issues as well as sex trafficking and domestic violence. They worked with individual women by preparing reports about their cases, and helping women to find lawyers for problems such as property violations and rape.
Keth Mardy began working with the NGO Project against Domestic Violence (PADV) in 1997, and is now the coordinator of the Public Awareness Program. PADV uses innovative methods to share the message about domestic violence and deals with individual women to provide counseling and referrals to crisis centers and legal services.
"The policy at PADV is that the woman cannot live in the family if her husband is beating her every day. If she comes to ask our help it is already a serious problem and it's too late to work with the husband. Sometimes we face challenges from the community because they rely on old Cambodian traditions. They say the woman cannot leave her home even if the husband beats her every day. We educate the community about new ways to think about culture.
"My program publishes different types of media materials – posters, videos, and radio spots which are distributed nationwide. I am also responsible for village presentations. We go to rural areas; in one year we spend three months. We do discussions, and traditional theater to spread the message about domestic violence. They have shared the posters in many schools, and distributed the posters and other materials through NGOs and others who request them.
"We can show the issue of domestic violence using traditional theater called ayay which uses comedy and is very popular in Cambodia. The message of this theater is that domestic violence is illegal. The ayay shows one family where the husband asks for money and gold from the wife to use for gambling but she refused, so he beat and threatened her. Then the chief of the commune intervened, and there is a happy ending because he stops doing these bad things."
Keth Mardy has hope for the future of Cambodia, "I think that domestic violence will be reduced through education of people at all levels of society. Through the media we hope we can improve the standard of living for women in Cambodia."
Through her personal experiences in Cambodia, Keth Mardy has become one of the many women who are working to publicize and politicize women's rights. The recent seminar allowed her to network with women from Southeast Asia who have had similar experiences, brainstorm together about new ways of placing "domestic" abuses on the political agenda, and to bring these problems to the international arena.
Esther Saw Lone (Burmese/Karen) – Women's Rights Project, Earth Rights International
"Women [in Burma] are subjected to rape and other sexual assault in villages and fields; during flight; while they are serving as forced laborers or forced porters; when soldiers claim to check women's documents; and in prison."
Esther Saw Lone is a member of the Karen ethnic minority group of Burma (renamed Myanmar by the current regime) and is now living as a refugee in Thailand and Australia. After leaving Rangoon in 1974, she worked at the Burmese border as a teacher until 1991. She then left for Thailand, and moved to Australia in 1992.
During her years in exile, Esther Saw Lone has seen the vulnerability of women – in her own country, and in flight.
Burmese society is highly militarized, and by tradition women must serve men, especially their sons and husband. This is a breeding ground for violence against women. The democratic leader and Nobel Prize Winner, Daw Aung Sun Kyi, who has spent several years under house arrest in Burma, is a striking exception to the norm of subjugation.
Women have also suffered from years of political violence. Since 1988, the government has waged war on opposition groups, many of whom are associated with particular ethnic nationalities. Much of the fighting occurs in border areas where ethnic nationalities traditionally lived. The border areas are also rich in resources and the government has waged hostilities in the name of development – attacking villages and committing myriad human rights abuses as part of its forced relocation program to construct railways and pipelines.
In this environment, sexual violence occurs with alarming frequency. Women are subjected to rape and other sexual assault in villages and fields; during flight; while they are serving as forced laborers or forced porters; when soldiers claim to check women's documents; and in prison. Women political prisoners are particularly vulnerable.
Women are raped by Burmese soldiers in their own homes, while they are internally displaced, and while they are on their way to seek asylum in a third country. This serves as a form of "entertainment" for soldiers, but is also a strategy to demoralize and weaken ethnic minority populations. While it is impossible to calculate numbers, anecdotal evidence suggests that it runs to thousands. These women suffer multiple health problems as a result, including HIV, trauma, and other injuries. Many feel that this sexual violence is aimed at diluting the blood of ethnic minority populations. Arguably it constitutes crimes against humanity.
The war between the government and ethnic nationalities, and the government's intolerance towards an opposition voice, violates the rights of Burmese women to life, security of person, education, a reasonable standard of living, property, privacy, family, correspondence, and the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community. It also violates freedoms (of association, opinion, thought, religion, and freedom from slavery). The lack of access to clean water, nutritious food, and sanitary living conditions is a problem that women living inside the country, women in flight, and women in refugee camps all share. When men leave their villages to fight, the women, children, and elderly are left behind, and women are solely responsible for gathering and preparing food and wood, maintaining the home, caring for the sick and elderly, and keeping the family together in the case of forced relocations. Another problem is the burgeoning sex industry in Burmese women.
Thousands of Burmese refugees have fled to Thailand, and an estimated 80 percent of these are women and children. At least one million Burmese people are living illegally in Thai cities and towns, and an unknown number have fled to India. In addition, it is estimated that of the population of 46 million Burmese, there could be as many as 5 million internally displaced – of these, the majority are women.
Esther admits that at first she did not know much about human rights and women's rights. Burmese traditions do not encourage women to make decisions or to know about their rights. Also, growing up in a military regime was limiting, because there was not much open discussion possible and much propaganda broadcast about certain minority groups.
But after developing a school for displaced children, teaching in the school, reflecting on her own personal experiences, and observing the way that Burmese women put up with adulterous husbands and domestic violence, she was led to further study. She gained knowledge from some training in diplomacy in Australia at the New South Wales Law Faculty, and decided she had to share the information with other women. She organized a conference to help networking among Burmese women – some from different ethnic groups – in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 1998. In the next year she will do four trainings for Burmese women, in India, Bangladesh, and Thailand. She is proud that a woman leader was recently chosen for one of the border camps – one of her goals is to increase the number of women in influential positions.
Herlina Permata Sari – Mitra Perempuan, Indonesia
"After seeing accidentally a Chinese girl raped by many people, my young sister is so frightened and stressed. Her talking is disordered and her body is trembling every time someone comes near her."
Herlina Permata Sari has been studying sexual harassment on public transportation in Indonesia. She is also a volunteer with Mitra Perempuan (Mitra means partner and Perampuan means women - they are the partners of the women.) – a women's rights organization in Indonesia that takes complaints from women (especially in cases of domestic violence), and provides shelters and legal assistance for woman victims. Mitra Perampuan was created in 1995, and now has 25 active staff members – lawyers, housewives, social workers and academics. Five are full-time and the rest volunteer.
Indonesians have recently lived through the most turbulent year of their lives, and this has given Mitra Perempuan and its partners plenty of work. Three members contributed to a report on last year's demonstrations for the NGO Volunteers for Humanity, and found that hundreds of Chinese women were raped around the time of May 1998; some women were also killed. One witness brought two young girls home on back roads, after they were dragged from a car and raped, "I saw some nude women corpses, with their faces covered with newspapers. They must have been raped, for I could see the dried blood from their vaginas, on which the flies swarmed. After leading the two girls away, I went home on the same road. But when I arrived at the crossroad, the corpses had gone. But to where? Who took them?"
Volunteers for Humanity recorded this case, dated May 13, "Tens of young men got out of two trucks and attacked the shop-house of the (17-year-old) victim. They plundered goods, raped her, even bit and broke off her nipple. After that they burnt the shop-house." The following day, rioters broke into the shop of another victim, four months pregnant. "Some of them dragged and stripped her dress. Her husband, who wanted to help, was hit. In the naked, the victim released herself and ran away. When she was going downstairs she fell. Her foot was broken and had miscarriage. This victim died on bleeding at a hospital."
The magnitude of the rapes has certainly been underestimated. As is true all over the world, many do not dare to address the problem of rape – it is considered shameful or even a defect. This makes it hard for the victims and their families to reveal what happened to them. In addition, during the riots, there was mass confusion, violence and displacement of persons. Many people fled the country or went into hiding. Other testimony indicated that the rapists often took the victims' identity cards. Even members of the Volunteers for Humanity have had problems. They have received warnings not to continue their activities of "listening" and "helping" the victims. Seeking the truth has been called a subversive activity.
The Volunteers for Humanity report noted that "For many eyewitnesses, the border between "seeing" and "experiencing" is obscured, and so is the difference between "self" and "victim." One informant said "After seeing accidentally a Chinese girl raped by many people, my young sister is so frightened and stressed. Her talking is disordered and her body is trembling every time someone comes near her. For two weeks she was in the hospital. I became doubtful if my sister only saw someone raped or she herself was also raped. Why her reaction is like that? The phenomenon shows how the effect of the rapes has been so far destructive to the inner life and daily life of so many people. This is a total destruction of our living together."
The report also states that the rapes of Chinese women in Indonesia were systematic and organized, and can be considered extremely serious human rights violation. This systematic abuse of the Chinese minority women has had a great impact on the entire society. Mitra Perempuan and the network of the VAWW group (Violence Against Women in War) are among the organizations who are working hard to address this problem and trying to obtain redress for the victims.
Herlina has become interested in another form of violence that is less earthshaking, but nonetheless indicative of attitudes towards women. She studied at the University in the field of criminology, and her thesis is about sexual harassment in public transportation. "When I have been a passenger I always meet sexual harassment on public transportation. Some people may say this is minor, but I think it is harassment. It is very crowded and we have to stand very close to the other passengers. The kind of harassment I found most often is that the men rub their penis against the women passengers. If we dare to complain to the man, they will say if you don't want to get touched just take a taxi. This makes us feel very angry. And you can't get away because it is very crowded. The man may also try to touch the breast – not very obviously, they may use their elbow or shoulder, but we know it is not an accident."
Information is vital to this advocacy. The last year has seen an explosion in the use of the Internet and email in Indonesia, and human rights groups are seizing the opportunity to develop contacts internationally and within Indonesia. Invitations, information, petitions, and communications are sent out via email. Email also helps alert students abroad to the latest political developments. When the Indonesian Women's Coalition for Justice and Democracy held a congress in Jakarta last year, the agenda and invitations were sent out by email. Mitra Perempuan plans to produce a regular newsletter. So far one issue, concerning the period of the riots, has been produced.
In Their Own Words
From the Editorial Desk
On the Record asked some of the participants to tell us about themselves, and they emailed the following. The editors have shortened their comments, but kept as much of the original as possible.
Cambodia
"I am married with three children. I like the work because I can learn from international staff and have the chance to use English, computer, etc. The work also gives me chance to save victims. Some women politicians were threatened with torture and death and had to escape, leaving their children to starve. In such a situation I can recommend NGOs to help, like Women Crisis Center, Youth for a Mission, ADHOC, etc. I can intervene on their behalf, and ask local authorities to care for their security. Sometimes, I have to bring them to Licadho (the Cambodian League for Human rights), provide them with a safe house or recommend that the UN recognize their asylum rights. It is also not very safe for me to perform this work in a culture of impunity."
"I work for ADHOC because I want to know what are human rights. Most women in Cambodia suffer from society, family, and husband. Those in remote areas are illiterate, because of custom and poverty. So they must follow the old custom, keep silence, stay at home, and do all the work in the house. In addition, women attract the anger of their husband when their husband gets drunk or loses money in gambling. I want to help Cambodian women break the old customs. I want all men to share the difficult work of their wives, and know women's rights as human rights. Sex trafficking is another big problem in my country. This has spread, bringing HIV/AIDS.
"I have only worked for ADHOC for a very short time. But I already have one good story to tell you about our work. On June 25 1998, one of the women in our central office, in cooperation and collaboration with the local authorities, conducted research on sex trafficking in Poipet commune. The police arrested the brothel keeper called Mr. Meach Bunrith, aged 40, and then sent him to the provincial court of Bantey Meanchey. Twenty-one prostitutes recovered their freedom and then were entrusted to "Save Young Girls Center" in Battambang province. But about one month later, the brothel owner was released from provincial court."
"We work with street people from five provinces: Pray Veng, Takeo, Kandal, Kampong Speu, and Kampong Cham. We have a counselor contact street people and explain about the hardships of staying on the street. When they agree, we take them to the center Kolap 3 in Phnom Penh where we train them some skills – for example, sewing, repairing of cycle, agriculture, making cake, etc. We had one case in the center Kolap 3, where a disabled woman was raped by one man. We referred this problem to the court, but don't know if it will turn out.
"After training of three to six months, we send them to their native village, where TOPS (a partner NGO) continues to support them by providing some materials for small business. Since 1996, we have trained seven groups (249 families and 917 individuals). We continue to follow their cases for several months, and try to help them work with organizations or NGOs in their provinces to solve their problems. Our goal is to reduce their poverty and help them to earn more money for their family or contribute to the economy."
"My name is Keo Sokkhim. I'm 48-years-old and have two children. I work at LICADHO as Women's Rights Coordinator in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since it was first established in 1992, LICADHO has been very active in promoting human rights and monitoring human rights violations throughout the country. For the past four years (with support from NORAD) LICADHO's teacher have raised awareness of women's rights among NGO staff, armed forces, prison officials, civil servants. It has also disseminated information about women's rights to the general population.
"Simultaneously, our investigators have monitored and documented women's rights violations in Phnom Penh and 15 provinces. The 20 local and international non-governmental and governmental organizations, including the Ministry of Women's Affairs, need to be strongly supported in Cambodia."
"Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world due to the civil war, the genocidal regime, and continuous political/internal conflicts. Democracy and human rights were also absent during that period. The Paris Peace Accord was signed in 1991, a general election was held in 1993 and a Royal Government was established, with a new constitution ensuring the democratic multi-party system and respect of human rights. But the situation has only improved slowly, and is still not satisfactory for women. Women's rights have been violated in the form of domestic violence, labor exploitation, trafficking, so on and so forth.
"Many NGOs both local and international have been established. The Urban Sector Group (USG) is empowering women's economic capabilities so that they will be more independent and self-reliant. This is reducing human rights violations, since many cases of violence stemmed from poverty and lack of education.
"Mrs. Sun Thuok is one of our beneficiaries. Sun Thouk is a small vendor at Chbar Ampov market. Before joining our program, her husband often scolded her and threatened to beat her. We tried to explain to her husband about equal rights between men and women. She is now able to respond to her husband positively. She was also able to make her own decisions, which was never the case before. We can also see less quarrels in her family.
"In conclusion, we can see that human rights education alone will not help much if the family cannot fulfil their economic needs at the same time. Empowering women through capacity building and vocational training gives women more access and opportunity, thus making them less vulnerable to human rights violation."
"I attended the training to meet human rights activists from many Asian countries; to talk and share experiences on women's human rights violations; to learn about women's human rights and how to define violations; to help women who have endured suffering from all types of human rights abuses which have been ignored; to share and pass on from what I have been gaining to other NGOs that are working on women; and to help women to promote the rights of women in Cambodia society as well as in Asia."
Contact International Human Rights Law Group
"I'm married. I have one three-year-old son. I have worked at KWVC for 20 months. I'm a journalist. I like to do this work because I can collect information on women's issues in my country. Many problems of Khmer women are not published yet. I work at KWVC to promote participation and decision-making by women in society, economics, and politics. Furthermore, I can go to everywhere. I meet different people in different places. It helps me know more about social problems."
"I live in Cambodia. I was a professor (level II). I have three sons. One studies in University of Law and two others study in high school in Battambang. I was married 10 years ago. I work in Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC). My job is administrator, and I manage women and children. I work in my organization because I want to help poor people in Cambodia. I want to develop my country to the level of other countries. This year, I have collaborated with other organizations to fight violence against women. In my organization there are 17 lawyers, three foreigners, one consultant, helping the management team, and two other financial consultants and a legal consultant for land law. There are also two defenders, five legal assistants, 11 investigators, seven guards, nine receptionists, two office assistants, one cleaner, and one cashier – in total: 58.
"The goal of my organization is to defend poor Cambodians in the court, protect the rights of women and children, and create a group of trainers for poor people. We train them in land law, labor law and violence against women. We are working with the following NGOs – the Forum, UNCHR, CCC, Redd Barnen, 14 women NGOs and MOWA – helping the poor people claim their rights to their lands."
"I am Chin Yahan, married, 41-years-old. I have only one child. My organization is Women for Prosperity. I am working in Advocacy Training on Women's Legal Rights and Women & Leadership and Magazine Publication. I am interested in my work because it gives me the opportunity to promote my own awareness and that of other Cambodians on our legal right to lead our lives with an independent conscience and to be able to prevent our well-being from abuse. Through the Indochina Training on Monitoring, Investigating and Documenting Women's Human Rights Violations, held on January 18-22, 1999, I have got more awareness and more experience in this area. I am determine to integrate what we have learned into my practical work.
"This great [week of] training has broadened and strengthened the international relationship among us as Indochinese NGOs. I hope, in the near future, that women in Indochina as well as women in the world will achieve their complete and constant rights to fully develop themselves and lead their life with dignity and great value. Thank you very much. Please accept my assurance of respect."
Indonesia
"I am 26-years-old and still single. My organization is Yayasan Inoeng Balee Indonesia (YIBI). It is advocating and counseling the victims of military operation area, particularly women. I am also interested in gender issues. I'm doing this job because I want to do a worth and valuable thing in my life. I want to help women victims. By doing this job I can also meet many kinds of people, and exchange experiences."
Thailand
"I was a student activist and have been working with an NGO since 1985. I strongly believe that gender equality can create peace and harmony in society which can allow both men and women to enjoy their basic human rights as human beings without discrimination regarding sex, race, etc. At the same time I am strengthening myself and other women to be aware about women's human rights and protecting our rights."
"Sawasdee ka (Hello)! My name is Supawadee. You can call me Kratae. I've been working with FOW since 1987. The more I work on women's issues, the more I understand about inequality between men and women in society. This is especially the case with violence against women, which has not been recognized by our society especially the government. I feel that we women have to fight for our rights. The most challenging thing to liberate ourselves from the patriarchal system, though it is not easy."
"I love to learn new things which challenge my heart. I dream of visiting the palace in Burma one day because I love to study history. I like to learn more about culture of different countries. We are free to take initiatives in our work in MAP. We work at team building."
"Before I worked with Empower, I saw that working as prostitutes in Thailand is very hard because they are looked down on by society as "bad women." So I decided to work with Empower Organization. I have a strong intention to empower the [prostitutes] to build up their self-confidence and provide them with alternatives.
"My work teaches us to respect each other as human beings, no matter who you are or what is your job. We live, eat, and work together as a family. I found that those sex women who came to our center often smile and become more confident. I am very happy to work with them."
Lao People's Democratic Republic
"My name is Chanhdy Pankeo. I am 45-years-old. I am married; I have got five children (two sons, three girls). I work at the Lao Women's Union, where I am Deputy Director of the Training and Emancipation Department and a trainer. I understand that training is very important because we improve our knowledge.
"I like this job very much, and I also like the subject, because the role of human rights is to protect the rights and benefits of women and to mobilize women of all ethnic groups and social strata to contribute to social and economic development. The challenge is that in Lao traditional society women do not perceive themselves, nor do men perceive them. [We need to] make the society aware, so that it can improve. To be successful in protecting the right and benefit for women, we need to build their empowerment and develop their campaigning skills.
"I have had successes in the Hudpan province, where we work on gender in Early Childhood and Family Development for 10 villages. Here I have been building curricula for them, and training them on gender, project management, and team building. I will use the lesson from this week in the training courses."
"My name is Bouachanh. I come from Lao People's Democratic Republic. I am 39-years-old. I am married and I have two girls. After my university, I started to work at the Central Lao Women's Union, which is an organization for the promotion of status and the advancement of women. I am responsible for Gender Resources Information and Development Center. This acts as a focal point for gender information and training. Its aim is advocating and mainstreaming gender into the government structure. To protect women's human rights from violation, we need to get to the point where women and men have equality in their dignity and work as human beings as well as equality in their rights."
Vietnam
"I began working for the organization right after graduation. As time has gone by and as other academic and work opportunities have become available, I have become more interested in doing research on women and other populations from a gender perspective. This Indochina Training is a very good example of what is enhancing my desire to devote my heart, energy, and mind to the work I have chosen. It would be a contribution to the victory of the long-retained struggle for human rights in general and women's human rights in particular. We all will reach the goal with our own various ways when we are in solidarity, I strongly believe. My love to all sisters and friends who care about human rights for peace and justice."
"As I am senior researcher on Women's Studies, and head some projects. These include training courses on gender issues. I feel this week of training will be useful for me. I want to receive more knowledge and information on the methods, skills for research of gender in general and of women's human rights violations in specific."
"I am head of the working group on Women's Studies, coordinator in some projects, and facilitator of training courses on gender issues. I also want to receive more knowledge and information."
"Working in CGFED helps me to improve my knowledge and learn skills. Through CGFED activities we can help women: raise consciousness, increase self-confidence, educate, improve the position of women in society, empower women, and transform relationships."
In the Next Issue: Cambodia in the Shadow of the Khmer Rouge
Issue 4: Portraits of Courage
On the Record: Women of Southeast Asia Fight Violence
March 8, 1999
Issue 4: Portraits of Courage
- Laura McGrew profiles the participants at the Cambodia seminar
- Burma – Prison Beatings and Forced Labor
- Cambodia – Domestic Violence Made Worse by Political Violence
- Burma- Women's Rights Project, Earth Rights International
- Indonesia – The Rape of Chinese Women in Riots
- In Their Own Words: Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia
Portraits of Courage
Ayea Khaing – Burmese Women's Union
"One woman was kept in that separate special political section. My friend peaked through a hole in the door and she saw that there was a lot of blood dripping down from this woman's head. We also heard her screaming."
In Burma, men and women alike suffer from political repression of a traditional kind. The military government of Burma (also known as Myanmar) has become an international pariah because of the way it has suppressed democracy, brutalized opposition groups, and waged war against Burma's ethnic minorities.
Ayea Khaing left Burma in 1990. Before that, like so many Burmese young people, she and her brother were active in the protests against military rule. In July 1988, when she was just 17-years-old, she was taken in for questioning after taking part in the demonstrations. Two years later the opposition parties won a landslide victory in the elections, but the Junta refused to yield power and turned in fury on the democratic opposition. Ayea Khaing was jailed for a month. The last time she heard of her brother, he too was jailed. Ayea Khaing recalls conditions in jail:
"The situation in prison was not good. Although the women were separated from the men, the political prisoners were mixed together with the other prisoners in one big room. Behind the main room, there were some special cells just for political prisoners, some of whom are quite famous.
"The second time I was in prison they beat me after we demonstrated because of a lack of food and water. They also asked us to clean the walls but we refused to do this. Then they pushed all the women who were involved in that. My left eye was injured, but now it is better. After they beat me, they tried to force me to clean the walls, but I refused. I told them that I was injured and that I would not do that work. They also scolded us and asked why are you singing, because we were singing revolutionary songs.
"I also saw and heard others being beaten. For example, one woman was kept in that separate special political section, Daw Hla Hla Than, who was a second-year student. Before she was about to be moved to another section we heard a scream, then they closed all the windows and doors. I saw a little bit, but my friend peaked through a hole in the door and she saw more – there was a lot of blood dripping down from this woman's head. We also heard her screaming.
"We also heard voices from the men's prison. When we organized our protests and demonstrations we would communicate to the men's prison so we would all demonstrate on the same day. The conditions were worse in the men's prison than in the women's, they beat them a lot and we found out that three men were beaten to death. Some men spoke a lot about political situation; we would often hear their voices. We would worry a lot about the men.
"The authorities used psychology on us as well. They would not let any of the prisoners eat. Then they would say to the prisoners that it was because of our demonstration. They blamed us. So we stopped our demonstration at 4:00 and then at night we found out that three men had died.
"I met a woman from the Shan ethnic group in prison who had been a political prisoner for 13 years. She told me that she had been investigated by a branch of the military. They jumped on her stomach. She told them that she was pregnant, and if her baby died, that they would have to take responsibility. They didn't dare to continue and they stopped jumping on her. That same woman told me that she was questioned by the intelligence section. She said they have a room, and there are two snakes in one room so you can see the snakes, but they are not free in the room with you. But she said it still makes you scared because you are thinking they will do something bad to you with the snakes. She said they also have a 'water room,' where they can add water to make you afraid of drowning, to make you tell them want they want to know, like your contacts. She was inside the water for along time and she was unconscious until finally they took her out – she almost drowned."
Ayea Khaing continued her work on behalf of democracy from exile. At the end of 1990, she fled to the Thai-Burmese border where she attended teacher training in the refugee camp and worked in the information department of the main refugee organization. She wrote the women's programs for the Democratic Voice of Burma, which is based in Oslo, Norway. In 1997, she joined the Burmese Women's Union (BWU) (established in 1995), which is the main voice for Burmese women in exile.
The BWU is based in Mae Hong Song, Thailand. It has 300 members at the border, and is organized into four sections. These cover information; education (a nursery school) and income generation (weaving and handicraft); human rights training; and finance. The BWU also runs a working group at the borders for women ethnic leaders. Ayea Khaing is one of the BWU's five elected representatives from the border region and head of the BWU's foreign affairs unit, which disseminates information on Burmese women to the outside world. The unit is also preparing a report for the Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women (CEDAW). Outside the region, the BSU has branches in Japan, the United States, and Australia, and it is also developing an office in Europe.
It is not easy to conduct this kind of advocacy. With a Burmese passport, Ayea Khaing is repeatedly questioned when she travels abroad. Her parents are in Rangoon, but she is afraid to contact them for fear that it might expose them to reprisals. The last she knew, her brother was in prison – and that was about five years ago. She has no knowledge of his whereabouts.
- Contact Burmese Women's Union
Keth Mardy – Project Against Domestic Violence, Cambodia
"Old Cambodian traditions say the woman cannot leave her home even if the husband beats her every day."
The intensity of violence perpetrated against many women in Cambodia is breathtaking. Women suffer severe and unrelenting beatings – including punching, kicking, hair pulling, whipping with ropes, bamboo canes, metal rods and cords, immolation, rape, and gunshots. The Khmer Rouge experience, decades of war, and easily available weapons appear to have greatly increased the severity of the violence.
Cambodia's traumatic history is well known to the world. In over 20 years of war between 1970 and 1990, millions of victims suffered from violence of war. Between 1975 and 1979, up to two million people died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, by starvation, overwork, lack of medical care, or execution. People with education were targeted, and of hundreds of professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, only a handful survived. Now, well over half of the population is women (about 60 percent), with many women heads of households. Levels of education are very low. It is estimated that 25 percent of women have suffered from domestic violence.
Keth Mardy was a student in the capital of Phnom Penh until 1974. After graduation, she was unable to find work, and as the war intensified in Phnom Penh there were frequent bombings in the city. Thousands and thousands died. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge took over, another type of war began, and she was forced to walk over 200 kilometers to the province of Pursat. For three years, she worked in a single girls' work camp where she was forced to carry heavy loads of dirt to build a dam, from about 5:00 am to 6:00 pm with a half-hour break with a thin watery soup for lunch.
In 1978, Vietnamese soldiers pushed the Khmer Rouge out of Cambodia to the Thai-Cambodian border area, and a new government was installed in the capital of Phnom Penh. People living in Cambodia were cut off from the rest of the world, and a vicious border war began between the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government and the various forces on the border, including the Khmer Rouge, the royalists, and the republicans. Life was difficult, and after marrying in 1982, Keth Mardy finally fled to the Thai-Cambodian border and began working at the information office of one of the refugee camps. She worked on the radio program for the camp and learned about media resources.
Life in the camps was not easy. Even though the UN provided water and food, she had to carry her own water and cook food on a fire – there was not enough firewood. Keth Mardy herself admits that when she was working in the refugee camps, she did not realize that men did not have a right to beat their wives, since this was a common practice and it was a traditional view that men owned and controlled their wives. This tradition is still common today throughout Cambodia.
In 1992, after a peace agreement was reached between the warring factions in Cambodia, Mardy returned to Cambodia. She began working with the Ministry of Women's Affairs, where she worked on general women's issues as well as sex trafficking and domestic violence. They worked with individual women by preparing reports about their cases, and helping women to find lawyers for problems such as property violations and rape.
Keth Mardy began working with the NGO Project against Domestic Violence (PADV) in 1997, and is now the coordinator of the Public Awareness Program. PADV uses innovative methods to share the message about domestic violence and deals with individual women to provide counseling and referrals to crisis centers and legal services.
"The policy at PADV is that the woman cannot live in the family if her husband is beating her every day. If she comes to ask our help it is already a serious problem and it's too late to work with the husband. Sometimes we face challenges from the community because they rely on old Cambodian traditions. They say the woman cannot leave her home even if the husband beats her every day. We educate the community about new ways to think about culture.
"My program publishes different types of media materials – posters, videos, and radio spots which are distributed nationwide. I am also responsible for village presentations. We go to rural areas; in one year we spend three months. We do discussions, and traditional theater to spread the message about domestic violence. They have shared the posters in many schools, and distributed the posters and other materials through NGOs and others who request them.
"We can show the issue of domestic violence using traditional theater called ayay which uses comedy and is very popular in Cambodia. The message of this theater is that domestic violence is illegal. The ayay shows one family where the husband asks for money and gold from the wife to use for gambling but she refused, so he beat and threatened her. Then the chief of the commune intervened, and there is a happy ending because he stops doing these bad things."
Keth Mardy has hope for the future of Cambodia, "I think that domestic violence will be reduced through education of people at all levels of society. Through the media we hope we can improve the standard of living for women in Cambodia."
Through her personal experiences in Cambodia, Keth Mardy has become one of the many women who are working to publicize and politicize women's rights. The recent seminar allowed her to network with women from Southeast Asia who have had similar experiences, brainstorm together about new ways of placing "domestic" abuses on the political agenda, and to bring these problems to the international arena.
- Contact PADV
Esther Saw Lone (Burmese/Karen) – Women's Rights Project, Earth Rights International
"Women [in Burma] are subjected to rape and other sexual assault in villages and fields; during flight; while they are serving as forced laborers or forced porters; when soldiers claim to check women's documents; and in prison."
Esther Saw Lone is a member of the Karen ethnic minority group of Burma (renamed Myanmar by the current regime) and is now living as a refugee in Thailand and Australia. After leaving Rangoon in 1974, she worked at the Burmese border as a teacher until 1991. She then left for Thailand, and moved to Australia in 1992.
During her years in exile, Esther Saw Lone has seen the vulnerability of women – in her own country, and in flight.
Burmese society is highly militarized, and by tradition women must serve men, especially their sons and husband. This is a breeding ground for violence against women. The democratic leader and Nobel Prize Winner, Daw Aung Sun Kyi, who has spent several years under house arrest in Burma, is a striking exception to the norm of subjugation.
Women have also suffered from years of political violence. Since 1988, the government has waged war on opposition groups, many of whom are associated with particular ethnic nationalities. Much of the fighting occurs in border areas where ethnic nationalities traditionally lived. The border areas are also rich in resources and the government has waged hostilities in the name of development – attacking villages and committing myriad human rights abuses as part of its forced relocation program to construct railways and pipelines.
In this environment, sexual violence occurs with alarming frequency. Women are subjected to rape and other sexual assault in villages and fields; during flight; while they are serving as forced laborers or forced porters; when soldiers claim to check women's documents; and in prison. Women political prisoners are particularly vulnerable.
Women are raped by Burmese soldiers in their own homes, while they are internally displaced, and while they are on their way to seek asylum in a third country. This serves as a form of "entertainment" for soldiers, but is also a strategy to demoralize and weaken ethnic minority populations. While it is impossible to calculate numbers, anecdotal evidence suggests that it runs to thousands. These women suffer multiple health problems as a result, including HIV, trauma, and other injuries. Many feel that this sexual violence is aimed at diluting the blood of ethnic minority populations. Arguably it constitutes crimes against humanity.
The war between the government and ethnic nationalities, and the government's intolerance towards an opposition voice, violates the rights of Burmese women to life, security of person, education, a reasonable standard of living, property, privacy, family, correspondence, and the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community. It also violates freedoms (of association, opinion, thought, religion, and freedom from slavery). The lack of access to clean water, nutritious food, and sanitary living conditions is a problem that women living inside the country, women in flight, and women in refugee camps all share. When men leave their villages to fight, the women, children, and elderly are left behind, and women are solely responsible for gathering and preparing food and wood, maintaining the home, caring for the sick and elderly, and keeping the family together in the case of forced relocations. Another problem is the burgeoning sex industry in Burmese women.
Thousands of Burmese refugees have fled to Thailand, and an estimated 80 percent of these are women and children. At least one million Burmese people are living illegally in Thai cities and towns, and an unknown number have fled to India. In addition, it is estimated that of the population of 46 million Burmese, there could be as many as 5 million internally displaced – of these, the majority are women.
Esther admits that at first she did not know much about human rights and women's rights. Burmese traditions do not encourage women to make decisions or to know about their rights. Also, growing up in a military regime was limiting, because there was not much open discussion possible and much propaganda broadcast about certain minority groups.
But after developing a school for displaced children, teaching in the school, reflecting on her own personal experiences, and observing the way that Burmese women put up with adulterous husbands and domestic violence, she was led to further study. She gained knowledge from some training in diplomacy in Australia at the New South Wales Law Faculty, and decided she had to share the information with other women. She organized a conference to help networking among Burmese women – some from different ethnic groups – in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 1998. In the next year she will do four trainings for Burmese women, in India, Bangladesh, and Thailand. She is proud that a woman leader was recently chosen for one of the border camps – one of her goals is to increase the number of women in influential positions.
- Esther Saw Lone is the Southeast Asian Coordinator of the Women's Rights Project of Earth Rights International, based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Herlina Permata Sari – Mitra Perempuan, Indonesia
"After seeing accidentally a Chinese girl raped by many people, my young sister is so frightened and stressed. Her talking is disordered and her body is trembling every time someone comes near her."
Herlina Permata Sari has been studying sexual harassment on public transportation in Indonesia. She is also a volunteer with Mitra Perempuan (Mitra means partner and Perampuan means women - they are the partners of the women.) – a women's rights organization in Indonesia that takes complaints from women (especially in cases of domestic violence), and provides shelters and legal assistance for woman victims. Mitra Perampuan was created in 1995, and now has 25 active staff members – lawyers, housewives, social workers and academics. Five are full-time and the rest volunteer.
Indonesians have recently lived through the most turbulent year of their lives, and this has given Mitra Perempuan and its partners plenty of work. Three members contributed to a report on last year's demonstrations for the NGO Volunteers for Humanity, and found that hundreds of Chinese women were raped around the time of May 1998; some women were also killed. One witness brought two young girls home on back roads, after they were dragged from a car and raped, "I saw some nude women corpses, with their faces covered with newspapers. They must have been raped, for I could see the dried blood from their vaginas, on which the flies swarmed. After leading the two girls away, I went home on the same road. But when I arrived at the crossroad, the corpses had gone. But to where? Who took them?"
Volunteers for Humanity recorded this case, dated May 13, "Tens of young men got out of two trucks and attacked the shop-house of the (17-year-old) victim. They plundered goods, raped her, even bit and broke off her nipple. After that they burnt the shop-house." The following day, rioters broke into the shop of another victim, four months pregnant. "Some of them dragged and stripped her dress. Her husband, who wanted to help, was hit. In the naked, the victim released herself and ran away. When she was going downstairs she fell. Her foot was broken and had miscarriage. This victim died on bleeding at a hospital."
The magnitude of the rapes has certainly been underestimated. As is true all over the world, many do not dare to address the problem of rape – it is considered shameful or even a defect. This makes it hard for the victims and their families to reveal what happened to them. In addition, during the riots, there was mass confusion, violence and displacement of persons. Many people fled the country or went into hiding. Other testimony indicated that the rapists often took the victims' identity cards. Even members of the Volunteers for Humanity have had problems. They have received warnings not to continue their activities of "listening" and "helping" the victims. Seeking the truth has been called a subversive activity.
The Volunteers for Humanity report noted that "For many eyewitnesses, the border between "seeing" and "experiencing" is obscured, and so is the difference between "self" and "victim." One informant said "After seeing accidentally a Chinese girl raped by many people, my young sister is so frightened and stressed. Her talking is disordered and her body is trembling every time someone comes near her. For two weeks she was in the hospital. I became doubtful if my sister only saw someone raped or she herself was also raped. Why her reaction is like that? The phenomenon shows how the effect of the rapes has been so far destructive to the inner life and daily life of so many people. This is a total destruction of our living together."
The report also states that the rapes of Chinese women in Indonesia were systematic and organized, and can be considered extremely serious human rights violation. This systematic abuse of the Chinese minority women has had a great impact on the entire society. Mitra Perempuan and the network of the VAWW group (Violence Against Women in War) are among the organizations who are working hard to address this problem and trying to obtain redress for the victims.
Herlina has become interested in another form of violence that is less earthshaking, but nonetheless indicative of attitudes towards women. She studied at the University in the field of criminology, and her thesis is about sexual harassment in public transportation. "When I have been a passenger I always meet sexual harassment on public transportation. Some people may say this is minor, but I think it is harassment. It is very crowded and we have to stand very close to the other passengers. The kind of harassment I found most often is that the men rub their penis against the women passengers. If we dare to complain to the man, they will say if you don't want to get touched just take a taxi. This makes us feel very angry. And you can't get away because it is very crowded. The man may also try to touch the breast – not very obviously, they may use their elbow or shoulder, but we know it is not an accident."
Information is vital to this advocacy. The last year has seen an explosion in the use of the Internet and email in Indonesia, and human rights groups are seizing the opportunity to develop contacts internationally and within Indonesia. Invitations, information, petitions, and communications are sent out via email. Email also helps alert students abroad to the latest political developments. When the Indonesian Women's Coalition for Justice and Democracy held a congress in Jakarta last year, the agenda and invitations were sent out by email. Mitra Perempuan plans to produce a regular newsletter. So far one issue, concerning the period of the riots, has been produced.
In Their Own Words
From the Editorial Desk
On the Record asked some of the participants to tell us about themselves, and they emailed the following. The editors have shortened their comments, but kept as much of the original as possible.
Cambodia
- Ung Vanna, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
"I am married with three children. I like the work because I can learn from international staff and have the chance to use English, computer, etc. The work also gives me chance to save victims. Some women politicians were threatened with torture and death and had to escape, leaving their children to starve. In such a situation I can recommend NGOs to help, like Women Crisis Center, Youth for a Mission, ADHOC, etc. I can intervene on their behalf, and ask local authorities to care for their security. Sometimes, I have to bring them to Licadho (the Cambodian League for Human rights), provide them with a safe house or recommend that the UN recognize their asylum rights. It is also not very safe for me to perform this work in a culture of impunity."
- Ouk Kimchantara, ADHOC
"I work for ADHOC because I want to know what are human rights. Most women in Cambodia suffer from society, family, and husband. Those in remote areas are illiterate, because of custom and poverty. So they must follow the old custom, keep silence, stay at home, and do all the work in the house. In addition, women attract the anger of their husband when their husband gets drunk or loses money in gambling. I want to help Cambodian women break the old customs. I want all men to share the difficult work of their wives, and know women's rights as human rights. Sex trafficking is another big problem in my country. This has spread, bringing HIV/AIDS.
"I have only worked for ADHOC for a very short time. But I already have one good story to tell you about our work. On June 25 1998, one of the women in our central office, in cooperation and collaboration with the local authorities, conducted research on sex trafficking in Poipet commune. The police arrested the brothel keeper called Mr. Meach Bunrith, aged 40, and then sent him to the provincial court of Bantey Meanchey. Twenty-one prostitutes recovered their freedom and then were entrusted to "Save Young Girls Center" in Battambang province. But about one month later, the brothel owner was released from provincial court."
- Lek Mom, Project Reintegration Street People
"We work with street people from five provinces: Pray Veng, Takeo, Kandal, Kampong Speu, and Kampong Cham. We have a counselor contact street people and explain about the hardships of staying on the street. When they agree, we take them to the center Kolap 3 in Phnom Penh where we train them some skills – for example, sewing, repairing of cycle, agriculture, making cake, etc. We had one case in the center Kolap 3, where a disabled woman was raped by one man. We referred this problem to the court, but don't know if it will turn out.
"After training of three to six months, we send them to their native village, where TOPS (a partner NGO) continues to support them by providing some materials for small business. Since 1996, we have trained seven groups (249 families and 917 individuals). We continue to follow their cases for several months, and try to help them work with organizations or NGOs in their provinces to solve their problems. Our goal is to reduce their poverty and help them to earn more money for their family or contribute to the economy."
- Keo Sokkhim, LICADHO (Cambodian League for Human Rights)
"My name is Keo Sokkhim. I'm 48-years-old and have two children. I work at LICADHO as Women's Rights Coordinator in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since it was first established in 1992, LICADHO has been very active in promoting human rights and monitoring human rights violations throughout the country. For the past four years (with support from NORAD) LICADHO's teacher have raised awareness of women's rights among NGO staff, armed forces, prison officials, civil servants. It has also disseminated information about women's rights to the general population.
"Simultaneously, our investigators have monitored and documented women's rights violations in Phnom Penh and 15 provinces. The 20 local and international non-governmental and governmental organizations, including the Ministry of Women's Affairs, need to be strongly supported in Cambodia."
- Tun Samphy, Urban Sector Group, Cambodia
"Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world due to the civil war, the genocidal regime, and continuous political/internal conflicts. Democracy and human rights were also absent during that period. The Paris Peace Accord was signed in 1991, a general election was held in 1993 and a Royal Government was established, with a new constitution ensuring the democratic multi-party system and respect of human rights. But the situation has only improved slowly, and is still not satisfactory for women. Women's rights have been violated in the form of domestic violence, labor exploitation, trafficking, so on and so forth.
"Many NGOs both local and international have been established. The Urban Sector Group (USG) is empowering women's economic capabilities so that they will be more independent and self-reliant. This is reducing human rights violations, since many cases of violence stemmed from poverty and lack of education.
"Mrs. Sun Thuok is one of our beneficiaries. Sun Thouk is a small vendor at Chbar Ampov market. Before joining our program, her husband often scolded her and threatened to beat her. We tried to explain to her husband about equal rights between men and women. She is now able to respond to her husband positively. She was also able to make her own decisions, which was never the case before. We can also see less quarrels in her family.
"In conclusion, we can see that human rights education alone will not help much if the family cannot fulfil their economic needs at the same time. Empowering women through capacity building and vocational training gives women more access and opportunity, thus making them less vulnerable to human rights violation."
- Sunlina Ly, International Human Rights Law Group
"I attended the training to meet human rights activists from many Asian countries; to talk and share experiences on women's human rights violations; to learn about women's human rights and how to define violations; to help women who have endured suffering from all types of human rights abuses which have been ignored; to share and pass on from what I have been gaining to other NGOs that are working on women; and to help women to promote the rights of women in Cambodia society as well as in Asia."
Contact International Human Rights Law Group
- Khun Chanpha, Khmer Women's Voice Center (KWVC)
"I'm married. I have one three-year-old son. I have worked at KWVC for 20 months. I'm a journalist. I like to do this work because I can collect information on women's issues in my country. Many problems of Khmer women are not published yet. I work at KWVC to promote participation and decision-making by women in society, economics, and politics. Furthermore, I can go to everywhere. I meet different people in different places. It helps me know more about social problems."
- Peung Yok Hiep, Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC)
"I live in Cambodia. I was a professor (level II). I have three sons. One studies in University of Law and two others study in high school in Battambang. I was married 10 years ago. I work in Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC). My job is administrator, and I manage women and children. I work in my organization because I want to help poor people in Cambodia. I want to develop my country to the level of other countries. This year, I have collaborated with other organizations to fight violence against women. In my organization there are 17 lawyers, three foreigners, one consultant, helping the management team, and two other financial consultants and a legal consultant for land law. There are also two defenders, five legal assistants, 11 investigators, seven guards, nine receptionists, two office assistants, one cleaner, and one cashier – in total: 58.
"The goal of my organization is to defend poor Cambodians in the court, protect the rights of women and children, and create a group of trainers for poor people. We train them in land law, labor law and violence against women. We are working with the following NGOs – the Forum, UNCHR, CCC, Redd Barnen, 14 women NGOs and MOWA – helping the poor people claim their rights to their lands."
"I am Chin Yahan, married, 41-years-old. I have only one child. My organization is Women for Prosperity. I am working in Advocacy Training on Women's Legal Rights and Women & Leadership and Magazine Publication. I am interested in my work because it gives me the opportunity to promote my own awareness and that of other Cambodians on our legal right to lead our lives with an independent conscience and to be able to prevent our well-being from abuse. Through the Indochina Training on Monitoring, Investigating and Documenting Women's Human Rights Violations, held on January 18-22, 1999, I have got more awareness and more experience in this area. I am determine to integrate what we have learned into my practical work.
"This great [week of] training has broadened and strengthened the international relationship among us as Indochinese NGOs. I hope, in the near future, that women in Indochina as well as women in the world will achieve their complete and constant rights to fully develop themselves and lead their life with dignity and great value. Thank you very much. Please accept my assurance of respect."
Indonesia
- Cut Zahara, Yayasan Inoeng Balee Indonesia (YIBI)
"I am 26-years-old and still single. My organization is Yayasan Inoeng Balee Indonesia (YIBI). It is advocating and counseling the victims of military operation area, particularly women. I am also interested in gender issues. I'm doing this job because I want to do a worth and valuable thing in my life. I want to help women victims. By doing this job I can also meet many kinds of people, and exchange experiences."
Thailand
- Somkid Mahissaya, Friends of Women Foundation (FOW)
"I was a student activist and have been working with an NGO since 1985. I strongly believe that gender equality can create peace and harmony in society which can allow both men and women to enjoy their basic human rights as human beings without discrimination regarding sex, race, etc. At the same time I am strengthening myself and other women to be aware about women's human rights and protecting our rights."
- Supawadee Petrat (Kratae), FOW
"Sawasdee ka (Hello)! My name is Supawadee. You can call me Kratae. I've been working with FOW since 1987. The more I work on women's issues, the more I understand about inequality between men and women in society. This is especially the case with violence against women, which has not been recognized by our society especially the government. I feel that we women have to fight for our rights. The most challenging thing to liberate ourselves from the patriarchal system, though it is not easy."
- Nataporn Ongwisith, Migrant Assistance Program (MAP)
"I love to learn new things which challenge my heart. I dream of visiting the palace in Burma one day because I love to study history. I like to learn more about culture of different countries. We are free to take initiatives in our work in MAP. We work at team building."
- Pornpit Pukmai (Porn), Empower, Chiang Mai
"Before I worked with Empower, I saw that working as prostitutes in Thailand is very hard because they are looked down on by society as "bad women." So I decided to work with Empower Organization. I have a strong intention to empower the [prostitutes] to build up their self-confidence and provide them with alternatives.
"My work teaches us to respect each other as human beings, no matter who you are or what is your job. We live, eat, and work together as a family. I found that those sex women who came to our center often smile and become more confident. I am very happy to work with them."
Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Chanhdy Pankeo, Lao Women's Union
"My name is Chanhdy Pankeo. I am 45-years-old. I am married; I have got five children (two sons, three girls). I work at the Lao Women's Union, where I am Deputy Director of the Training and Emancipation Department and a trainer. I understand that training is very important because we improve our knowledge.
"I like this job very much, and I also like the subject, because the role of human rights is to protect the rights and benefits of women and to mobilize women of all ethnic groups and social strata to contribute to social and economic development. The challenge is that in Lao traditional society women do not perceive themselves, nor do men perceive them. [We need to] make the society aware, so that it can improve. To be successful in protecting the right and benefit for women, we need to build their empowerment and develop their campaigning skills.
"I have had successes in the Hudpan province, where we work on gender in Early Childhood and Family Development for 10 villages. Here I have been building curricula for them, and training them on gender, project management, and team building. I will use the lesson from this week in the training courses."
- Bouachanh Syhanath
"My name is Bouachanh. I come from Lao People's Democratic Republic. I am 39-years-old. I am married and I have two girls. After my university, I started to work at the Central Lao Women's Union, which is an organization for the promotion of status and the advancement of women. I am responsible for Gender Resources Information and Development Center. This acts as a focal point for gender information and training. Its aim is advocating and mainstreaming gender into the government structure. To protect women's human rights from violation, we need to get to the point where women and men have equality in their dignity and work as human beings as well as equality in their rights."
Vietnam
- Pham Kim Ngoc, Research Centre for Gender, Family, and Environment (CGFED)
"I began working for the organization right after graduation. As time has gone by and as other academic and work opportunities have become available, I have become more interested in doing research on women and other populations from a gender perspective. This Indochina Training is a very good example of what is enhancing my desire to devote my heart, energy, and mind to the work I have chosen. It would be a contribution to the victory of the long-retained struggle for human rights in general and women's human rights in particular. We all will reach the goal with our own various ways when we are in solidarity, I strongly believe. My love to all sisters and friends who care about human rights for peace and justice."
- Le Thi Chieu Nghi, Center for Women's Studies (CWS), Institute of Social Sciences (ISSHO)
"As I am senior researcher on Women's Studies, and head some projects. These include training courses on gender issues. I feel this week of training will be useful for me. I want to receive more knowledge and information on the methods, skills for research of gender in general and of women's human rights violations in specific."
- Truong Thi Kim Chuyen
"I am head of the working group on Women's Studies, coordinator in some projects, and facilitator of training courses on gender issues. I also want to receive more knowledge and information."
- Hoang Ba Thinh, Centre Research for Gender, Family, and Environment in Development (CGFED)
"Working in CGFED helps me to improve my knowledge and learn skills. Through CGFED activities we can help women: raise consciousness, increase self-confidence, educate, improve the position of women in society, empower women, and transform relationships."
In the Next Issue: Cambodia in the Shadow of the Khmer Rouge
Back
- News Service
- Multimedia
- Global Issues
- Covering the UN
- Civil Society in Albania
- Afghanistan's Women & Girls
- Africa – HIV/AIDS
- Africa – Pygmies
- Bangladesh – Empowering the Blind
- Bosnia – War and Recovery
- Cambodia – Civil Society and the Tribunal
- Central America – Civil Society After Hurricane Mitch
- Ecuador and Oil
- Guatemala – Indigenous Advocacy
- India – The Global Movement for Children
- Kosovo – Civil Society after the War
- Nepal – Democracy and Discrimination
- Nigeria – Trafficking to Europe
- Occupied Palestinian Territories
- Peru – The Search for Truth and Justice
- Roma and Gypsies
- Serbia – Fighting Repression
- Southeast Asia – Violence Against Women
- Issue 1: Series Launch
- Issue 2: Defining the Problem
- Issue 3: The Solutions
- Issue 4: Portraits of Courage
- Issue 5: Cambodia – In the Shadow of the Khmer Rouge
- Sri Lanka – Rebuilding After the Tsunami
- The World Bank and Human Rights
- UK Travellers and Dale Farm
- AP Diaries and Staff Blogs
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The Advocacy Project develops partnerships with advocates on the frontline and with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In so doing, we take our cue from partners and tailor any support to their needs.