A group of Karenni women has called for rules and procedures to be established as soon as possible to respond to violence against women and children.
Karenni National Women’s Organization (KNWO) made the call in a statement to the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC) on International Women’s Day on 8 March.
“Currently, KSCC is the highest authority in Karenni State. Therefore, we have called on the consultative body to establish rules and procedures to respond to violence against women and children,” said Maw Pray Myar, the second secretary of KNWO.
Maw Pray Myar explained the main reason for the call as follows:
“We can say that our Karenni State is on the way to self-determination. We have a legal system, but the practical implementation is still a bit weak. Therefore, we want to quickly implement the legal mechanisms in this transitional period, because we haven’t made much progress in effectively punishing the perpetrators of human rights violations. To date, they get away with such violations with impunity. Therefore, we demand that this point be strengthened,” she said.
In addition, the Karenni women’s group not only wants to strengthen women leaders who are active in various fields, but also to continue offering roles for other women.
In the statement issued on International Women’s Day, the Karenni women’s group also calls on the KSCC to adopt interim plans to respond in various ways to violence against women across the state.
Point 2 of the statement calls for effective action against perpetrators of violence to establish rules and procedures and implement them effectively.
In addition, the statement emphasizes the need to respect and recognize the participation of women in various roles in the revolution and to increase women’s representation at all levels of the political process and decision-making.
On the one hand, the KNWO calls on aid organizations to network with local organizations and help people affected by the conflict in Karenni State.
“And we especially call on local and international donors to connect with local groups on the ground to provide humanitarian aid instead of distributing it through military council’ channels,” added Maw Pray Myar.
The women’s group also calls on the Myanmar military to end war crimes against women and children as soon as possible and to take responsibility for the war crimes committed.
International Women’s Day celebrations were kept to a minimum on 8 March at IDP camps in Loikaw, East Demoso, West Demoso and Hpruso townships in Karenni State, she said.
The Karenni women’s group said that the events included sharing knowledge about International Women’s Day with IDPs, impromptu talks and various games to reduce the stress of IDPs’.
Sent by NMG.