VIOLENCE MOUNTS AGAINST MON WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS

(By Taramon and Cham Toik, Kao Wao: March 8, 2004)

As Amnesty International launches its worldwide campaign to mobilize both men and women to counter violence against women around the world, the suppression of women in war-torn Mon state continues.

The Mon Women’s Organization (USA), the Mon Women’s Organization of Canada and the Thailand Burma Border-based Women and Child Rights Project have issued a statement to mark Mon Women’s Day which falls on March 2nd  (12^th day of 12^th Mon lunar calendar) in 2004.   The Mon Women’s Day was specially chosen to honour the birth date of Mon Queen Mi Sao Bu (Shin Saw Pu), the only woman to be queen in her own right in the history of Burma.  She ruled Hongsawaddy kingdom in the 15^th century A.D.  During her rule, the glory of the Monland was peaceful and prosperous.

The exiled Mon women’s organizations have called on the international community to urge the Burmese regime to withdraw their military operations in the ethnic regions of the country and all forms of human rights violations, especially rape which is being used as a weapon of war against the ethnic nationalities of Burma.

Like other offensives in Karen and Shan states, the Burma Army has added rape to its arsenal of weapons against civilians in the rural Ye area.  Amnesty International has reported that violence against women during armed conflicts has reached epidemic proportions.  In the war-torn area of southern Ye women have become the primary targets of armed combatants and gang rape has been systematic and brutal.

During military offensive which started in mid December 2003, many women have been sexually abused and raped.  According to refugees who recently fled to the Thai Burma border, Mi Choma (age 19), daughter of Nai Kmao Done and Mi Pu from Mi Tawhlar village, was raped by soldiers of Battalion No. 28 while she was in custody at a detention center near her village.

Another girl Mi Aye (age 20) from Kaw Hlaing village was also raped by soldiers of IB No. 586 after the girl and her father were arrested and accused of having contact with the Mon guerrilla group.

Mi San Myint, a woman from Krane Kanya village, said women from six villages were hand-picked for their good looks and forced to participate in a beauty pageant at a military base where some were later raped. Eighteen women who were forced to join in the show at the Army camp had to join in a karaoke contest attended by military officials and village headmen were obliged by the military to provide prizes to the entertainers.

A village headman who fled to the border said the women were sexually harassed and abused by the Burma Army. "After the party was finished and villagers and some of the women had left, the prettiest women chosen by the officers had to stay behind and were sexually abused," said Nai Cuu, the village headman from Krein KaNyar who fled to the border.  Nai Cuu said the women were forced to drink Black Label whiskey mixed with Star Cola juice even though they normally do not consume alcohol; the soldiers got them drunk to ready them for sexual abuse.

Ms Mi Kyi San, from Khaw Zar village, claimed that military officials chose only the most attractive girls to sing for the karaoke party. They were convinced to entertain the soldiers at an army camp.  Parents who lied to officials that their daughters were not at home had to pay 25,000 kyats as the price of non-participation.  "The model show was held at the military base because they wanted entertainment and later on these girls were forced to have sex," said San, who went to the border in hopes of being able to migrate to Thailand.

One of the rape victims, Ms Mi Cho Myint, said that she was forced to take off her clothes in front of military officials before she was raped. 

Another young woman, Mi Yin Mon (not her real name), was wracked with tears while she tried to speak to Kao Wao about sexual violence she had endured. The attractive 18-year old from Krone Kanyar village was reluctant to reveal what had happened to her, due to a cultural tradition which inhibits women from speaking about such things. But her uncle, Nai Gong Sakar, said she had been raped while soldiers were quartered at her home.

Virginity is highly valued by the community and women feel embarrassed when obliged to talk about sex.  Even though there are cases of rape, local reporters are unable to do interviews about them due to the tradition that such sexual matters are not on the public agenda.  According to custom, men avoid marriage with a woman who is known to have been raped.

Another girl, Ms Mi Htay Win, was also reluctant to tell about how she had been raped. Her mother allowed her to migrate to Thailand in order to shut out any gossip about the sexual abuse that her daughter had experienced.

During military operations, soldiers from the Burma Army usually stay at the homes of villagers, often using such hospitality providers to serve as human shields in order to avoid ambush by Mon guerrillas.  Villagers have little choice when obliged by the Army to billet the military in their homes.  In the so-called black areas, lives-stock belonging to the villagers is taken and their daughters are sexually abused.

"The women in this area are very pretty but their life is miserable.  Violence against women is used to dehumanize them or to persecute their community.  Even Mon politicians and community leaders do not want get involved with taking action on cases of sexual violence and choose to ignore them," said Mi Kun Sorn, a woman activist at the Thai Burma border.

However, a spokesperson from the New Mon State Party, that has had a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military since 1995, said the NMSP finds it difficult to gather evidence on violence against women while seeking to document cases of torture and murder in which the Burma Army has been involved.

The border-based Human Rights Foundation of Monland also faces difficulties in documenting rape cases because the victims themselves want to avoid talking about sexual issues. "Even women in this area don’t want their stories publicized," said Ms Khamom Htaw from the Women and Children’s Rights Project.

Women also suffer more because their husbands and parents have been killed or tortured by the Army.  During the recent offensives in southern Ye, over ten people were killed including 26-year Nai Ablai, the secretary of Waeng-Ta-mok village. "I really feel sorry for Ablai’s wife who had a young boy to look after," said Ms. Mya, a woman from the same village, who fled to the border area.

Women’s issues were raised during a meeting of politicians and nationalists on Mon National Day in Ye township.  A source in Mon State reported that Mon community members and Buddhist monks have discussed how to protect villagers and Mon women in particular.  But women activists doubt their leaders will take effective action.   The Mon Women’s Organization in Mon State is quite strong and very active in matters concerning politics, health, education and community development in the Mon community.  But women have not yet been elected to political leadership roles in the mainstream Mon political party. That challenge is still ahead for women in rural areas.

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