A gender equality network has pressed the chief government peace mediator to ensure that the Union Peace Conference (also called 21st Century Panglong Conference) is gender balanced.
The Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP) recently met with Dr Tin Myo Win, chairperson of the Peace Commission, asking him for permission for its representatives to make recommendations at various function during the conference and to include women in the Peace Commission technical advisory team.
They also requested that 30 percent of the attendees invited to the peace conference be female.
Daw May Sabe Phyu, a member of AGIPP, said: “No exact response has been given for these [requests]. We were asked to give a list of women who should be invited. We are preparing to give this list.”
She said that it was the first meeting with Tin Myo Win, who also serves as the personal physician for State Counselor Daw Aung Suu Kyi, when he seemed to acknowledge the importance of their requests.
In an open letter that was left for review, the AGIPP asked that political dialogue at the conference be gender balanced and include female participation. The letter also asked for the government to do more to protect women from violence in conflict and post-conflict zones and that sex offenders are adequately punished.
Established in 2014 with eight organisations/networks, the AGIPP was formed to increase women’s participation in the peace process.
Founding member groups are: Gender and Development Institute (GDI); Gender Equality Network (GEN); Kachin State Women’s Network (KSWN); Mon Women’s Network (MWN); Nyein (Shalom) Foundation; Women’s League of Burma (WLB), Women’s Organisation Network (WON); and Women and Peace Action Network (Shan State).
Reporting by Aik Sai for MNA
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by BNI staff
