Burmese women activists at the 7th National women’s conference

Nga Ngai
Mizzima News: 11 September,  2006

In order to share, sensitize and to create awareness of the problems encountered by Burmese women and to find common solutions, 10 Burmese women activists are taking part in the 7th National Conference of Women's Movement, being held in Kolkata.

The three-day conference being held between September 9 to 12, is being attended by over 2,000 women delegates including those from Bangladesh and Nepal, will discuss issues affecting women.

With its theme being "Towards a Politics of Justice: Affirming Diversities, Resisting Divisiveness", the conference is being held in order to give women a

Platform to come together to share, dialogue, debate and sharpen their political skills with a deep understanding of and responses to issues and strategies, organizers said.

The major issue to be debate and discussed includes challenges before women, their experience, prevention of sexual violence against women, communal violence and exploitation of children.

Dr. Nandita Gandhi, Co-Director of the conference committee told Mizzima, "I am very happy to hear Burmese women’s groups are participating in this conference… because the problems we women are facing are always the same."

The Burmese delegation will share their experiences, sufferings as women and also their struggle for political change in Burma through various presentations including cultural dances, singing of the national anthem, and presentation on the current political situation in Burma.

In order to foster better understanding of the political situation in Burma, delegates at the conference on September 10, had a panel discussion on "Politics and Democracy in Burma". The National Conference of Women's Movement, which was started by autonomous women groups, held its first and second conferences in 1980 and 1985 respectively in Mumbai, Maharastra state. While the third conference was held in Patna, in Bihar state in 1987, the fourth was in Calicut in 1990 followed by the fifth in Tirupati in 1994 and the sixth in Ranchi in 1997.

The participation of Burmese women delegates in the seventh National Conference was organised by an Indian non-governmental organisations, ‘The Other Media,’ which has been working closely with Burmese political organisations in New Delhi.