The Women’s Federation for Peace (WFFP) launched ‘Sustainable Peace and Women’s Participation’, a book designed to increase women’s participation in the peace process, on 28 September at the Myanmar Journalist Network office in Rangoon.
Daw Thuzar Tin, the WFFP director said: “We aim to give exposure to the voice of women taking part in the peace process, [to show] the importance of the peace process in Burma and the obstacles against women’s participation.”
The WFPP based the 34-page Burmese language book on training sessions that were run from July to September.
Nang Shan Lahpai, the program manager for the Nyein Foundation’s Social Integration for Peace Program said: “Whenever a war breaks out in a country, for whatever reason, the ones that suffer the most are women and children. As peace and development must happen at the same time, women’s participation is important. There will not be sustainability if [women] are given fewer chances to participate in the peace process and are not allowed to take part at the decision-making level.”
In the WFPP book, Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, secretary of the Women and Children’s Rights Committee of Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House), was quoted as saying that women are still being abused in cities and rural areas even though a new government has taken office.
She also criticised the lack of discussion of women’s issues in the parliament even though women’s activists across the country have been raising women’s issues.
According to the WFPP book, of the 11 members of the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre (NRPC) organised by the government only two are women. None of the six members of the Peace Commission are women and of the 48 members of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) only four are women.
Of the 72 people who presented papers to the Union Peace Conference (21st Century Panglong Conference) held at the end of August, only nine were women.
Despite the number of women in the present parliament doubling from previous parliaments to 13 per cent activists still want the government to create opportunities to increase women’s participation in parliament.
The WFFP works for women’s rights in Burma and it has an office in Mayangone Township in Rangoon.
Reporting by Saw Tun Linn for KIC News
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
