History of Burma
Burma (called Myanmar by the current ruling military regime) is a multicultural society with diverse ethnic Nationalities and over 106 languages and dialects. The peoples' spiritual faiths also reflect the underlying diversity of history and culture. Throughout its history women have played an active role in national and political life. Traditional kingships and ethnic self-rule dominated in Burma and historical chronicles tell of powerful queens since ancient times. Self-rule ended with the British conquest of Burma in the 19th century. Burma was then alternatively controlled by the British and the Japanese. Woman played an active role in Burma's struggle for independence from British rule and Japanese occupation, and after almost 100 years under colonial rule, Burma gained her independence in 1948.
The newly-independent Burma strove to be a multiparty democracy. Several women played prominent roles in public service, however the number of women in governing positions was low. In the first parliamentary elections in 1952, five women were elected to the Lower House of Representatives and seven women were elected to the Upper House of Representatives, both out of 125. The period of democracy did not endure, however, as the military general Ne Win seized power in 1962 and, under the guise of socialism, turned the country into a single-party political system. The military coup also curtailed the involvement of woman in affairs of the state.
A nationwide people's uprising against the military government erupted in 1988. The demonstrations culminated in a massive show of People Power on August 8th, 1988, in which hundreds of thousands of people marched to demand an end to military rule. These peaceful demonstrations were violently crushed by army troops who fired relentlessly on the unarmed crowds in Rangoon and other cities, killing more than 10,000 students, civilians and Buddhist monks protesting throughout the country and arresting thousands more. This became known as the massacre of 8-8-88.
In the face of international condemnation following the massacre of 8-8-88, the new military named themselves the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), allowed political parties to be formed and called for a multi-party election. In the multi-party election held in May 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory, sweeping 392 of 485 (or 80%) of the parliamentary seats. The NLD was led by national hero Aung San Sui Kyi, who prior to the election had been placed under house arrest and disqualified as a candidate by SLORC. Despite the decisive victory, the SLORC refused to transfer power to the NLD, claiming that transfer of power to a civilian government could not happen until peace prevailed in the country.
The people of Burma have been intimidated since 1962 through various forms of human rights abuses inflicted upon them by the military government. SLOR renamed itself the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), by which they are known today, but they did not curtail their oppression of the people and ongoing human rights abuses. Religious persecution, ethnic cleansing, forced relocations of indigenous communities, summary executions, arbitrary arrests, the use of civilians as human mine sweepers, slave labor and gang-rapes have been documented in five reports by women's rights NGOs from Burma operating on the Thai/Burma boarder, as well as by international organizations and bodies, such as Amnesty International and the U.N. Human Rights Commission (see sidebar, right).
As a result of these abuses, more than 800,000 refugees have been driven out of Burma into neighboring Thailand, Bangladesh and India, and more than 600,00 people struggle to survive as internally displaced persons(IDPs)
In September 2007, Burmese monks staged peaceful marches against the military regime. After an initial period of silence from the junta, the peaceful protests were harshly suppressed as the military carried out a brutal crackdown on the protestors. The SPDC reported 10 deaths from the crackdown, but NGOs and the U.N. Special Rapporteur claimed the death toll was around 30 deaths. Additionally, the military beat and arbitrarily detained thousands of protestors. Through violent crackdown measures, the regime finally suppressed the massive popular protests against its brutal mismanagement of the country.
On May 2 and 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy Delta region in southern Burma, quickly destroying homes, food, and water supplies. The havoc wreaked by the cyclone killed tens of thousands of people, while displacing almost a million more. The military junta refused to allow international humanitarian aid to enter Burma and reach the millions of people in need of aid after the cyclone. Almost a month after the initial devastation, the junta finally decided to allow international aid into the country, although aid groups still face massive obstacles in their quest to effectively distribute the aid. Additionally, the SPDC ratified its new constitution through a referendum held a week after the cyclone despite the fact that people could not vote on the referendum due to the devastation. In addition to the illegitimacy of the ratification process, the constitution grants the junta immunity from any criminal prosecution. Chapter XIV "Transitory Provisions," Article No. 445 states, "No legal action shall be taken against those (either individuals or groups who are members of SLORC and SPDC) who officially carried out their duties according to their responsibilities." This amnesty provision never appeared in the draft principles or on items listed for discussion by the National Convention. The junta hastily inserted the provision at the last minute.
Women in Burma Today
Even though Burma is a signatory to CEDAW, participation of women in politics, high-level governmental positions, and the military (which controls the government) has historically been limited or non-existent, as is still the case today. The situation has been made worse by the extreme militarization of the country, creating a situation where men have always been the sole candidates allowed to participate and benefit directly from military rule. There are no female Cabinet members in the ruling SPDC junta.
In addition to illegitimately ratifying the new constitution through a referendum in which many people could not vote due to Cyclone Nargis and enshrining amnesty for the military, the military-drafted constitution also ignores the international equality mandates for women in conflict or transition countries. Consequently, this constitution is the worst ever drafted for women in the history of the world. By putting military requirements on the major cabinet positions such as defense minister and on the presidency and vice presidency and disqualifying women from running for the block of military-only legislative seats, the constitution makes gender inequality a permanent feature of government.
The oppression and exclusion of women has been exacerbated by traditions of discrimination and the law. The status of women in Burma is the best indicator of how well prepared Burma is to enact the egalitarian values that are essential to a democratic system.