Minds of the Movement

An ICNC blog on the people and power of civil resistance

Voices of Resilience: Women Defending Human Rights in Southeast Asia

Series

Women Defending Human Rights in Southeast Asia

This special REACT series guest-edited by Maneesh Pradhan features the writing of five women human rights defenders (WHRDs) participating in nonviolent struggles for rights, democracy and peace. Based in Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, contributors Evy, Nilda, Ei Mon, Yin Lae and Memee are all organizing in environments that are extremely hostile towards human rights activism. Their posts highlight how they are navigating unique challenges they face as women, both young and elderly. Beyond movement organizing, these women HRDs engage in writing, knowledge sharing and solidarity building, namely intergenerational solidarity. These “voices of resilience” are as instructive as they are inspiring for anyone organizing nonviolent actions especially in repressive contexts, as well as movement supporters and those who study civil resistance movements.

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Legacy of Resistance: Defending Human Rights Across Generations in the Philippines

“I was eight when I overheard Dad persuading Mama to employ the daughter of an impoverished client as household help. She would work without pay, in exchange for her father’s lawyer fees. We didn’t need household help, but Mama agreed when Dad explained it would mean “one less mouth to feed” for his client’s family. She was hired, with salary. I later understood the disturbing gap between social classes when I pursued a progressive education. But my learning wasn’t confined to the classroom. Conversations with one of my elder brothers enriched my education, from which emerged a strong desire for equality, truth and justice in my country. […]”

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“Don’t Move, Stand Still!”: Inside Myanmar’s Intergenerational Struggle for Democracy

I will forever remember that hot, early-summer morning in February 2021. I was at the market near my apartment in Yangon, waiting for Shan noodles for breakfast. The breeze whispered that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) had taken power over the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. I quietly finished my breakfast, shocked at the unexpected development, unaware of what it truly meant to live in a country undergoing a coup. When I got home from the market […]

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Triumphing Grief with Engaged, Collective Writing

“When I decided to become an activist, I didn’t stop writing. I initiated the Migrant Workers Writing Movement (Gerakan Buruh Migran Menulis) with Migrant CARE and discovered the incredible stories of women migrant workers and their families. Since then, I have gradually understood feminism and gender injustice, not from fancy theoretical concepts but from the experiences of the people I met. At that moment, I knew exactly my path in fighting for what was most relevant to me: women’s liberation. […]”

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Defiance and Determination: A Feminist Activist’s Journey in Thailand 

“I was born and raised in the northeastern region of Thailand, in a province known as Isan. I grew up in a society that identified itself as the “Red Shirts,” a grassroots movement striving for political and economic democracy. When I turned sixteen, I left Isan to attend high school in Bangkok. It was during this time that I was introduced to feminism and began reading about the struggles faced by women and LGBTQ+ communities in their fight for self-affirmation and the recognition of their traumas.” […]

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