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New report finds personal security concerns, lack of protection measures greatest impediment to women’s participation in politics

Women and Child Rights Program

In a new report on women’s participation in politics released by the Jeepyah Civil Society Development Organization (JCSDO), the JCSDO research team found that real or perceived threats to personal security figured as the greatest impediment to women’s participation in politics. Specifically, concerns about personal security coupled with a lack of special measures to protect women lawmakers when in the community, or on an extended business trip, were identified as major obstacles to increasing women’s participation in politics.

In conducting this research, the research team met with 30 lawmakers, 11 of whom are women, from Mon and Karen states, and Tanintharyi Region. The JCSDO team gathered the opinions of lawmakers regarding the role of women in positions of leadership and throughout all levels of the political process. Read more

Villagers in Ye Township hold press conference to condemn Excellent Fortune Development Group Company’s proposed stone mining project

HURFOM: In their latest show of opposition to Excellent Fortune Development Group Company Ltd.’s (EFD) planned stone mining project near Dani Thakyar and Magyi villages, Ye Township, Mon State, villagers held a press conference at the Shwe San Daw Pagoda in Ye on February 26^th 2019 to spotlight how the project will put the livelihoods of many in the area at risk.

The project, which is to be undertaken by Shwe Aykarit Mining Company Ltd., a subsidiary of EFD, has been met with protest since 2017 when villagers sent a petition letter to Daw Tin Ei, the Speaker of the Mon State Parliament, after learning that EFD was planning to buy land near Mount Bleh Patoi, located between the two villages. Read more

International Women’s Day 2019 Statement

HURFOM: Today, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) is celebrating International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter because gender balance drives a better working world and is essential for communities to thrive. Key to achieving gender balance is to notice its absence, celebrate its presence, and to work every day to challenge the existing gender roles and relations that deny women full participation in society. Read more

In wake of silence from government, villagers in Kyaikmayaw Township hold press conference to demand justice for land confiscations

HURFOM: After their calls for restitution were met with silence from government, landowners from Kyon Kwel and La Mu Kho village tracks, Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, staged a press conference at Kyon Kwel’s Parami Dipadi Monastery to call attention to land confiscations carried out with impunity by former village administrators in the region.

Although Kyon Kwel and La Mu Kho are under government control, the Karen National Union (KNU) still exercises partial authority over land management in the area because these villages are recognized as falling within the boundaries of the KNU’s Dooplaya District. Read more

Fear of land confiscation increases in Thanbyuzayat Township as Military Training School reveals plans for expansion

HURFOM: As recently reported by HURFOM, residents of Wae Kalee village, Thanbyuzayat Township, have growing concerns about land confiscation upon discovering land-marking stones demarcating some 500 acres of local farmland, believed to be laid by forces training at the nearby Advanced Military Training School No. 4.

In the weeks since this report, the Advanced Military Training School has summoned Wae Kalee villagers to inform them of a planned expansion of the school’s training grounds, and under the guise of cooperation, has levied an arbitrary tax on villagers who continue to work on land that has been demarcated. Read more

Mon State government orders military-run factory to suspend operations after villagers sound the alarm on water contamination

HURFOM: Due to the actions of villagers in Ye Pyar Gone village, Paung Township, the Mon State government has ordered the Pa Don Mar soap factory, operated by the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL), to suspend operations as waste water from the factory has contaminated the local water supply, destroying rice and vegetable crops and placing the livelihoods of farmers in Ye Pyar Gone under threat. Read more

World Day of Social Justice 2019 Statement

HURFOM: Today, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) is celebrating World Day of Social Justice. This year’s theme is “If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice,” a welcome reminder that social justice is at the core of peace and prosperity within and across communities, and essential to preventing violent conflict and addressing the many and varied challenges that arise in its aftermath. Read more

Father who repeatedly raped 7-year-old daughter on the run from Kamarwat Town as police seek to press charges

HURFOM: On February 4^th 2019, charges were filed against a 35-year-old man from Kamarwat Town, Mudon Township, Mon State, for the repeated rape of his seven-year-old daughter thanks to the resolve of Daw Kyi Kyi Aye, the girl’s school principal, and the intervention of Daw Mya Thein Ge Maw, a Mawlamyine-based lawmaker.

As Daw Kyi Kyi Aye reports, the girl arrived at school on the morning of January 24^th 2019 wearing a dirty school uniform and in need of a bath. Out of concern for the child’s well-being, Daw Kyi Kyi Aye took it upon herself to bathe the young girl. Read more

Teenage girl in Mudon Township sees rapist brought to justice months after 25-year-old perpetrator tried to silence her with compensation

HURFOM: On February 2^nd 2019, Ko M—, a 25-year-old man from Kamarwat Town, Mudon Township, Mon State, was charged with the rape of a 15-year-old girl after the Chair of the Mon State Future Light Organization, Daw Ther Htar Lwin, brought the incident to the attention of Kamarwat police.

Although the perpetrator and victim were neighbors, Ko M— first came into contact with the girl through social media in April 2018, and the two kept in regular communication thereafter. According to the victim, on the day of the incident she had gone to her grandmother’s farm to harvest vegetables but was unknowingly followed by Ko M—, yet it remains unclear how he knew of the girl’s whereabouts. Once she arrived, Ko M— proceeded to rape her in an isolated area of the farm. Read more

Human rights defenders meet with the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission in Mawlamyine, share concerns about commission’s activities in Mon State

HURFOM: A human rights coordination meeting organized by Equality Myanmar (EQMM) and Local Resource Centre (LRC) providing local community-based organizations (CBOs) and human rights defenders an opportunity to meet with the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) was held at the Rehmonnya Hotel in Mawlamyine, Mon State, on February 5^th 2019. The MNHRC shared information about the commission’s structure and activities, and discussed the commission’s limitations with respect to human rights advocacy with those in attendance. Read more

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