WUNRN
By- October 23, 2013
HLAING
TOWNSHIP, Rangoon — Dressed in the standard pink robes of a Burmese nun, Nan
Tha Zin Oo speaks softly when she remembers her childhood in northern Shan
State. “When I was in the village, in the media most of the important people
were men. I didn’t like being a girl. I wanted to be a boy,” says the
14-year-old.
After
moving to
The
program, Colorful Girls Circles, is run by a community-based organization known
as Girl Determined and includes discussions about decision-making,
self-confidence, friendship, and cultural and religious differences. More than
1,300 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 participate in the peer groups every
week, meeting in the outskirts of
“We
also plan to expand in 2014 to some areas of
Win
Win Nwe, a 13-year-old from
Sitting
beside her, Nan Tha Zin Oo, the nun, says the peer groups have altered her
perspective. “I saw that women could form organizations and achieve things like
men,” she says. “I knew the strength of being a girl and I was proud.”
In
Last
week Girl Determined held its third annual conference in
Out
of the conference came a statement about gender discrimination in education.
Drafted since March by a group of girls from the program, the statement
describes the pressure to leave school due to financial concerns, and it calls
on the government to provide free education through high school.
During
his first month in office, President Thein Sein urged lawmakers to increase
student enrollment, and the government has set a goal to implement a free,
compulsory primary education system by 2015, although the national budget for
education remains limited compared to spending on defense.
“Many
girls stay home from school to help take care of their siblings—boys don’t do
that,” says Than Than Oo, 14, who wants to attend university but worries she
may not get a chance. “I need to take care of my family,” she says.
The
girls’ statement also called for legal changes to allow more women to be
accepted to medical schools and technical colleges, as female students are
currently required to score higher on these entrance exams than their male
counterparts.
“In
state [basic education] schools, we cannot see very clear inequality, but at
university level more boys study professional subjects,” says Biak Chin Mowe,
from Irrawaddy Division, who hopes to attend an engineering school when she
graduates from high school.
The
During
a question-and-answer session at the conference, the teenage girls asked
questions such as, “Why don’t they give girls and boys equal rights?” and “Why
can’t a woman become president?”
Some
said opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had inspired them since she was
released from house arrest under the former regime in 2010 and joined
Parliament last year.
“My
father always listened to the radio and talked about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,”
says Ma Zar Chyi Win, referring to the democracy icon with a title of respect.
The 14-year-old lists Suu Kyi among her top three role models, after her mother
and a teacher at school. “I hope she will become the president of