"Dawn" News Bulletin, Vol.4 No.3 April - Online Burma Library

THE WOMEN OF BURMA:
HOLDING UP TWO-THIRDS
OF THE SKY
The women of Burma are
definitely superior to
men in orgamsinal skills.
This is evident from the
fact that in most Burmese
families, it is the woman
who manages and
determines the family's
destiny, although they
are careful to give the
impression, due to ageold
cultural norms, that a
woman is the "hind leg
of the elephant ", faithfully
following her man
wherever he may lead.
The image of a woman,
according to tradition, is
that of a weak and shaky
reed who, as a wife and
mother, live solely to
serve the needs and
comforts of her lordand-master
and his male
heirs.
However, facts belie this
image. In a Burmese
family, it is the mother
whom the children,
especially the sons, look
up to. It is the mother
who organises the
family's needs and
activities. It is she who
DAWN NEWS BULLETIN
I By Eugene Thaike Yawnghwe
manages the budget, and
as well, supplements or
stretches the family's
income. It is the mother
who weaves a wide
network of kins and
friends, cultivate a
patron-client network (so
vital to survival and
success), not only for the
advancement of the
family as a whole, but
also of her husband's
career and/or business.
It is the head woman of
the family who plots and
scheme, and implements
plans for the sons and
daughters, seeing to it
that they get hitched to
the right stars or land in
the right circle.
If one is able to look
behind any successful
man in Burma, one is sure
to find a wise, efficient,
socially skilled woman
standing behind him. In
almost all of such cases,
one will find that when
the man was a zero,
eating dust and getting
nowhere fast, it was his
wife who not only kept
27
the family afloat, but
fortified him, and as well,
got him started by
opening doors and
avenues that led to his
success.
distant).
However, despite the fact
that the women in Burma
are the engines that
dynamise society. They
have been excluded from
politics. In the realm of
politics, where social and
management skills,
wisdom, foresight, and
brain-power are most
crucial, those most gifted
with these very skills
have been most conspicuous
by their absence
(in modern times), until
the appearance on the
political stage of Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi in
1988.
h needs to grow stronger, and people need to
accustom their eyes to the light to see it as benediction
rather than a pain.
Undoubtedly, the women
of Burma more than,
as goes an old Chinese
saying, "Holding up one
half of the sky ". They, in
fact, hold up two-thirds
of it. And the vital role
of women in the social,
economic, and other
spheres of life, is acknowledged,
albeit
silently, by even the
most chauvinistic
Burmese male. As a rule,
even the most macho of
them seldom make
important decisions
without consulting his
wife, or his mother
(rarely his father,
because father-son
relation in Burmese
society is somewhat
The reasons for this sad
omission are many, but
the male-oriented and
male- dominated
Burmese cûltural tradition
must largely share
the blame. In Burmese
culture, women are
viewed as inferior
because they are, among
other things, viewed as
capable of polluting the
"Phone '' ( power-aura)
of men. Additionally,
they are, contrary to
irrefutable facts, looked
upon as treacherous, full
of deceitful wiles,
mentally underdeveloped,
flighty, helpless,
easily duped, overemotional,
etc.