Sean Yau Shun Ming
Facts tell us that
Burmese women constantly outnumber men at the university level, and more
probably to graduate with a master degree. Culturally speaking, they also keep
their own names even after marriage, not following their father’s or husband’s.
They are independent by themselves. But, when the general situation in Burma is
thoroughly observed, Burmese women rarely climb to the top, be that in the
government, Parliament, or any other decision-making positions.
What is stopping them?
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| Photographed in in the Mani Sithu Market, Bagan, Burma (Jan 2014) |
Direct
Discrimination
Such phenomenon can be
interpreted as gender discrimination. This is often reflected in job
opportunities and power reservation. In Burma, boys who have completed the 10th
standard in high school can join the training program, while women can only
enter after graduating university. According to CEDAW Committee’s report[1],
women have been receiving worse access to education opportunities. For other
lucrative jobs, more men are chosen, when women are effectively disqualified
based on their gender from some professions[2], military
for example.
Power Totally
Stripped
When it comes to
acceptance to military, it means a lot. Why so? Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel
Prize Winner who was house arrested for years, was rejected to be in the
running for the presidency in 2015, because the Constitution states that
candidates must have gone through military training.
“We wanted a culture
of democracy, we are trying to build a culture of democracy, and that starts
with equality,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in this January, speaking at Burma’s
first international women’s forum in Yangon[3].
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| Most Burmese women can do nothing but only run their own shop or food stalls on the street of Nyaung U |
To secure democracy,
getting to the power is almost the only way. But, so far there is only one
female minister in the government - Daw Myat Myat Ohn Khin, the leader of
Ministry of Social Welfare, who was only appointed in 2012. While in
Parliament, less than 5% of the seats are currently held by women, including
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi elected in 2012. This is largely due to the absence of a quota system that requires a certain
percentage of women in Parliament and the government, which if happened, it
would help women to raise their voice effectively.
Constitutional
Loophole
Throughout the
history, even until today, power has rested with the military party. The new
Constitution in 2008 makes military experience a prerequisite to presidency,
and 25% seats in the legislature are reserved for representatives appointed by
the military[4].
That means, when women
are excluded from the military, they are concurrently barred from the politics.
Even though U Thein Sein, the President of Burma, seems to give new hopes for
his quasi-civilian administration, Burmese women still remain largely excluded
for the past 3 years of his presidency.
Deep-rooted
Gender Inequality
‘Myanmar has always
been a male-dominated Theravada Buddhist society where there are many religious
and cultural barriers that limit the roles and behaviors of the women.” says
Myo Kyaw Thu, a Burmese student in City University of Hong Kong. This issue can
also be explained by the long lasting cultural notion. “All these norms and
beliefs have been deeply rooted... It is not that easy to break these
boundaries...”
There is an old saying
of advice to mothers in Burma: “Treat your son like a lord and your husband
like a god.” Such stereotype stems from Buddhism, the main religion in Burma
which gives the idea that women should play a subordinate role to men. While
the civil wars have left them vulnerable to forced labor and sexual abuse,
schooling has been brainwashing pupils as well, which eventually has led to a
high drop-out rate for women, largely due to the need to supplement their
families.
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| When it comes to the survival of their family, they can never be in the position of power in the society. |
Laws Not
Protective But Discriminatory
Burmese legal system
comprises Customary Law, Statutory Law and judicial decision(i.e. follow the
decision of precedent cases if facts are similar), with the new Constitution
put forth in 2008.
So how protective are
the laws in Burma?
Article 352 in the
Constitution stipulates that it allows the government to appoint men to
positions that are “suitable for men only”. The Constitution is discriminatory
by itself in that it does not ensure equal representation of women within the
legislative, executive and judicial branches, as analysed in Burma Human Rights
Yearbook 2008.
As mentioned above,
women can never run for presidency unless they have been to the military, which
excludes women, while presidency election also forbids people with foreign
spouses(as stated in the 2008 Constitution). Therefore, Aung San Suu Kyi
clearly cannot be elected. But, president Thein Sein recently showed his
support to allow any citizen to run for presidency in 2015 election by
reviewing the Constitution. It all looks good until it is realised that the the
change of the provision needs more than 75% of approval in the legislature[5],
while 25% of the seats are reserved by the military.
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| The roles Burmese women play in the community reflect the much weaker position they are in today. |
Fall Foul of
International Standard
Unlike other
countries, Burma did not sign and ratify international covenants that protect
human rights or gender inequality like ICCPR. However, Burma belongs to one of
the state parties to the UN Charter and is bound to promote “universal respect
for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”
Even though Burma has
become a signatory of the CEDAW[6]
convention since 1997(without signing Optimal Protocol) and admitted that women
in Burma are discriminated against, the new Constitution in 2008 does not
contain provisions to deal with direct or indirect discrimination. In fact,
CEDAW Committee once expressed concerns that Burma’s 2008 Constitution is
incompatible with CEDAW convention and customary laws discriminate against
women, especially those from ethnic groups. “It is just on the paper and does
not really reflect the reality.” Myo says.
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| Myinkaba Village, Bagan |
A Long Way to Go
For Burmese women to
get to the positions of power, there is still a long way to go. Changing the
laws is one way. Aside from that, it definitely depends on how determined they
are to fight for their rights and status, instead of limiting themselves to the
stereotyped culture.
[2] Burma Human Righta Yearbook, available on http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/HRDU_YB-2008/pdf/women.pdf
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