Activists send female underwear to Burmese embassies
Activists exasperated at the failure of diplomacy to apply pressure on Burma's military regime are resorting to a new means of protest against the regime's recent crackdown: sending female underwear to Burmese embassies.
Embassies in the UK, Thailand, Australia and Singapore have all been targeted by the "Panties for Peace" campaign, co-ordinated by an activist group based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The manoeuvre is a calculated insult to the junta and its leader, General Than Shwe. Superstitious junta members believe that any contact with female undergarments - clean or dirty - will sap them of their power, said Jackie Pollack, a member of the Lanna Action for Burma Committee.
"Not only are they brutal, but they are also very superstitious. They believe that touching a woman's pants or sarong will make them lose their strength," Ms Pollack told Guardian Unlimited.
So far, hundreds of pairs of pants have been posted, according to another campaigner, Liz Hilton. "One group sent 140 pairs to the Burmese embassy in Geneva," she said.
The campaign was a serious attempt to allow ordinary women to express their outrage at the regime's response to democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks, Ms Pollack said.
"Condemnation by the United Nations and governments around the world have had no impact on the Burmese regime. This is a way of trying to reach them where they will feel it," she said.
"The junta is famous for its abuse of women: it is well documented that they use rape as a weapon of war against ethnic minorities. This is a way for women around the world to express their outrage."
The Burmese government has claimed that 10 people were killed and nearly 2,100 arrested, but dissident groups estimate that dozens or even hundreds died during the recent crackdown and its aftermath.
A message on the activists' website reads: "This is your chance to use your Panty Power to take away the power from the SPDC. You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Send early, send often."
An official at the Burmese Embassy in London was unable to confirm if any garments had yet been delivered.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Burma: "Panties for Peace"
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2 comments:
The protest is innovative, but ironically it depends upon the willingness of women to reinforce a belief of the innate superiority of men over women that is held not only by Burma's generals but also by most men in the country. Men are potent; women are weak. Thus women's genitalia--especially if menstruating--are dangerous to men's potency.
In day-to-day terms, this means, among other things, that men in Burma actively avoid having contact with women's lower garments, and that special restrictions are placed on the hanging of women's washing that do not apply to men's articles. Perhaps the organisers of the protest should have considered these features of the "culturally insulting gesture" before going ahead with it. Who is really being insulted?
Panties for Peace® were developed as a way for women to get involved in the peace process around the world! I love that women are stepping up in Burma, and I would love to participate!
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