by Jane Politi, FAUSA
May Sabe Phyu of the Women’s Advocacy Coalition Myanmar (WAC-M) was staffing a table in the hall of the Armenian Church Center (site of the CSW68 parallel events). She was alone, and it gave us the opportunity to speak about the situation on the ground in Myanmar and for me to learn some facts about what the human rights violations look like now for different members of the population – in particular children and parents – how they are coping and the state of humanitarian aid.
You will remember that in 2016–17, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims had to flee Myanmar due to acts to exterminate them. Many live in Bangladesh in makeshift refugee camps in precarious areas prone to flooding and other natural disasters. The government of Bangladesh constantly pushes to send the Rohingya back to Myanmar, but the country is dangerous and far too unstable for them to return because of the certainty of experiencing atrocities and most likely death.
The civil war between the military and the people’s front in Myanmar is fierce. The objective of the military is to eliminate ethnic groups. Education, healthcare (including mental health) and the economy have been seriously impacted. Teachers and doctors are protesting the government oppression and refuse to work. Schools are closed, and children are either not at school or are attending informal programs in churches. Hospitals are closed or very low functioning. Midwives assist pregnant women during childbirth wherever they are as best they can. If someone is sick, there is nowhere to turn. Any progress made for women’s and girls’ rights before the coup has been devastated. They are targeted, violated physically, and their lives are in jeopardy. All of the professionals who have abandoned their jobs are at high risk of being arrested. 1.35 million people, mostly women and girls, are internally displaced and living under the radar or have migrated to neighboring countries.
The Myanmar military recently passed a law that mandates conscription of all males and females aged 18 and over. As a result, a myriad of young people are fleeing the country. All people are afraid, poor and hungry. The military will not allow international humanitarian aid into the country. The Women’s Advocacy Coalition Myanmar (2021) is made up of women’s rights advocates, women peace builders, and women’s rights organizations in Myanmar who want to eliminate all forms of dictatorship and build a gender-sensitive democracy. Regarding humanitarian aid, they work together, including with WAC-M members in the diaspora, to secretly get cash and aid into the country. The situation is absolutely horrible, and the world is not hearing enough about it.
Please read these reports here and here for a complete picture, including data.