Celebration for International Stop Violent against Woman Day held in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

November 25, 2008

WCRP: A celebration for the international Stop Violence against Women day was held on November 25th in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, twenty kilometers from the Burma border. The event featured speeches by Mon and Karen community leaders, and was attended by over 100 people and 17 non-governmental organizations.

Mi Jarai Non, coordinator of the Women and Child Rights Project and one of the event organizers, explained that the celebration intended to communicate three main messages:
1) Violence against women is unnatural, and both women and men should understand and acknowledge it is wrong.
2) To remind men that they are the majority of abusers
3) Women and men should come together to prevent violations.

“Violations of women’s rights have been occurring for many years and are happening now. Our rights are infringed. Even though we are facing abuse, sometimes we don’t realize that we are in these situations because we have experienced on life under violation. People that live under the fire do not know the flame,” Mi Seik Kha Mar, a representative of Mon Woman Association said during the celebration. “We ourselves do not comprehend whether we are suffering or committing psychical and mental violation to ourselves or other people. The reason is we are living in society and we cannot avoid it.”

“Burma will have a difficult time ending discrimination and women rights abuses,” said New Mon State Party Foreign Affairs Secretary Nai Hong Sar. “We are growing up under a variety of violations and oppression by the junta. If we want to stop the violations we must free ourselves from the dictatorship.”

The celebration closed with a short dramatization of unacceptable situations, acted out by Post-10 students from the Mon National Education Department.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News