Women Activists in Hiding

Among the Burmese pro-democracy activists in hiding are many courageous and committed women who have played leading roles in the recent demonstrations against sharp price increases in fuel, which began on Aug 19.

Authorities have been hunting down at least two dozen activists.

Pictures of leading activists, "wanted persons," have been distributed to checkpoints in Rangoon and other cities.

The Irrawaddy is honored to profile a number of these exceptional women activists who are on the front lines in the struggle  for democracy in Burma .

Nilar Thein

Her painful breasts are swollen with mother's milk.

But the brave mother-in-hiding and her hungry, 4-months-old baby are separated—perhaps for months or longer.

“How can I express my terrible feeling of missing my baby?” Nilar Thein said from her hiding place.

Nilar Thein has the sympathy of her fellow activists and from those who know her and her baby, Nay Kyi Min Yu, who is being cared for by her grandparents. 

“When you have the feeling of your breasts engorged with milk it reminds you that your baby is hungry for your milk,” said a close friend of Nilar Thein.

The 35-year-old Nilar Thein, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, led a demonstration against the rise in fuel prices in Rangoon.

Nilar Thein does not stay in one location for long, and she sometimes walks the streets alone. She always worries about where she can find a safe place to sleep. She constantly thinks and dreams of her daughter, now living with her mother-in-law.

Her husband, Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Jimmy, is also a leading member of the 88 Generation Students group. He was arrested and detained by Burmese authorities during the recent demonstrtions. Rumors swirled around his condition on Sunday, when there was speculation that he had died after being tortured by the regime.

Nilar Thein herself has been detained by Burmese authorities two times before. Her first arrest was in 1991, when she was jailed for two months. Her second arrest was in December 6, 1996, during a student demonstration.

During the demonstration she slapped the face of a high ranking police officer who tried to block her way in the march.

Nilar Thein joined the Burma democracy movement as a high school student in 1988 as a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

She was sentenced to seven years imprisonment under Act of 5 (j), an emergency security act, and another three years imprisonment under Act 332 for slapping a policeman. She was released on July 6, 2005.

She was detained in Insein and Tharrawaddy prisons.

Su Su Nway

Su Su Nway, a John Humphery Freedom Award winner in 2006, has a serious heart disease. Normally, she receives medical treatment twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.

But now, in hiding, she can't see her doctor.  Su Su Nway doesn't venture out from her hiding place, and she is afraid to have her medical doctor visit her.

Su Su Nway became a NLD youth member in 1990. Many Burmese people know of her fearless fight for the rights of people conscripted into forced labor and for farmers whose land has been confiscated by local authorities.

On August 28, she led a demonstration at Hledan Market in Rangoon’s Kamaryut Township where she was violently dragged away by thugs trying to arrest her. Fortunately, she escaped with the help of a Burmese journalist.

Her fight for democracy doesn't include hate.