Experiences

Geographical Focus
AJAR partnered with three local organizations to conduct this research. Women’s Organizations
Network (WON) conducted activities with ex-political prisoners in Yangon, while Kachin Women
Association - Thailand (KWAT) and Karen Women Empowerment Group (KWEG) worked with displaced
women in the Kachin and Karen communities, respectively.
Strengths and Limitations
The strength of this process is the participation of women survivors, in articulating their issues and
engaging in their own problem solving. Working in contexts where impunity is entrenched, we were
convinced that the research methodology must be designed to have some immediate benefit to the
participants. Thus, researchers were trained in trauma support and used research tools that assisted
victims through mutual support. Conducting the research in Kachin State was a great challenge
because of ongoing conflict. Survivors and researchers were at times unable to participate because of
active fighting and security risks in their areas. Activities in Yangon and with the Karen community also
had to be carefully planned for security reasons. As an in-depth and qualitative method, the research
does not provide big-picture quantitative findings. However, in this booklet we have attempted to
look at some of the patterns emerging in Myanmar.
An Overview of the situation for Kachin and Karen Women Affected by Conflict, and
Women Former Political Prisoners
Kachin Women
The Kachin started fighting for equal rights and self-determination in Myanmar more than 50 years
ago. As a distinct ethnic group, they face ongoing discrimination and inequality. Their language is
banned in schools, they have little opportunity for high-level government positions, and, as majority
Christians, they are often persecuted as a religious minority in a Buddhist dominated State. In 1961 the
Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were established.
Initially wanting independence, they now seek autonomy within a federal union.
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In 1994, based on promises by the Myanmar government for political reform, the KIA signed a
cease-fire. This lasted 17 years, until it was breached in 2011 when the Myanmar military launched
an aggressive operation in KIA territory, using heavy artillery and aircraft. Many of the human rights
violations recorded in this research project took place within the ceasefire period.
The conflict has witnessed systematic human rights abuses, including forced labor, arbitrary detention,
sexual violence, torture, and killings. The Myanmar army has allegedly targeted civilians in order to
curtail support for resistance groups. These acts reveal a contempt for women and other survivors who
are completely unprotected by the rule of law.
Over the years, Kachin men have volunteered to fight with the KIA, draining the agricultural labor
force at the village level. During this conflict, hundreds of villages have been burnt down, houses and
property have been ransacked, and stored food surpluses have been destroyed. Many have lost their
livelihoods, and over 100,000 people have been displaced.
Considerable determination and courage was needed on the part of both field workers and the
survivors to ensure that survivors’ workshops (held in March and April of 2014) could take place at all.
Some participants from the camps in KIO-controlled areas were prevented from attending because of
active fighting. Another participant was threatened by the authorities not to attend.
Women’s Experiences of War,
Peace, and Impunity in Myanmar