Female candidate beats male competition in Mon State village poll

January 20, 2016

WCRP:On Sunday Mi Ja Lon Htaw, a former schoolteacher and Mon National Education Committee (MNEC) administrator, beat male opponents to be elected administrator of Tarana village tract, located in Kyiakmayaw Township, Mon State.

3258e9b2-d808-470e-b35a-4ba6f3076de341-year-old Mi Ja Lon Htaw, also known as Mi Than Htay, beat off competition from three male candidates to win the election with 145 votes. The win constituted a rare victory in a village hierarchy usually dominated by male leaders.

Mi Ja Lon Htaw detailed that the victory had come as a surprise, saying, “I didn’t think I could get this many votes. On election day there were fewer female voters than male voters, so I thought I would not win. But when we counted the votes I won with 145 votes. I am happy that the villagers supported me as a female leader.”

She added, “It is rare in our community to have a female [village] administrator. I would like to be a role model for young women, to show them that women can work in politics and administration too. Also, I want to get rid of the belief that women shouldn’t be village administrators or leaders of the village. Then, both myself and others want to see what will change in the village with a female administrator.”

Mi Ja Lon Htaw completed Grade 7 in Tarana village tract’s government school and in 1993 continued her education at a Mon National School. She served as an MNEC Mon language teacher in Kyiakmayaw Township for 18 years, from 1997 to 2015, and from 2011 to 2015 acted as MNEC’s Deputy Education Administrator for Thaton District.

 

 

 

 

 

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