Karen women taking on greater responsibilities and facing greater dangers
Posted on February 25, 2010
Filed Under Burma news, Karen news | Comments Off
In rural areas of Karen State in eastern Burma, women are increasingly being elected as village chiefs in what is seen as shift in the traditionally male dominated society.
According to a new report by the Karen Womens Organization (KWO), men are becoming reluctant to take on the role for fear for their lives. Consequently, many villages are turning to women leaders, often in the hope that the Burmese Army will be more lenient on them because of their gender.
However, as the KWO report finds, women village chiefs are subjected to the same abuses as their male counterparts, with the added threat of rape and other forms of gender based violence.
It notes, “One third of the 95 women chiefs interviewed were physically beaten
or tortured, using methods employed on other villagers. Neither the
women’s status as chiefs nor their gender appears to have caused the
troops to exercise restraint in their brutality.”
Among the abuses experienced or witnessed by women chiefs are crucifixion, people being burnt alive, rape, including gang rape, many forms of torture, people being buried up to their heads and beaten to death, arbitrary executions, beheadings and slave labor.
The KWO is calling for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry by the United Nations Security Council into crimes against humanity and war crimes
in Burma.
They are also calling on the international community and other interested stakeholders to provide direct support to community-based women’s organizations, to enable them to build on their existing skills, and carry out programs addressing the needs of communities affected by the ongoing conflict in Burma.
A copy of the KWO report, called Walking Amongst Sharp Knives can be downloaded here.
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