Human rights start with women’s rights: State Counsellor

March 8, 2018

Women on Myanmar’s farms are true strength of the country

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday stressed the need for giving priority to promoting the role of women in Myanmar’s rural areas.

She made the remark in her opening speech at the International Women’s Day event in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.

“The role of women in rural areas is very important for our country, because 30 per cent of the GDP of Myanmar comes from the agricultural sector, while 70 per cent of the total population is living in rural areas,” she said.

The Union Government is striving to support and encourage the female population in rural areas, she added.

“The more the women get their rights, the higher the standard of human rights of a country,” said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

“At the same time, using the power of the mass of women would contribute to the economic development.”

Giving equal rights should begin with the family, at home, she said.

The ceremony to observe International Women’s Day was conducted by the All Myanmar Women’s Affairs Committee with the motto “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”.

She also called for the new generation of women to make efforts for their security and for improving their skills while emulating the talented Myanmar women in successive past eras.

She also called on women, who make up more than half of the country’s total population, to use the democratic practices of mutual respect, understanding and trust of each other so that they can fully apply their ability and skills when they participate in building a peaceful democratic federal society.

Yesterday’s ceremony was also attended by First Lady Daw Su Su Lwin, Daw Khin Thet Htay, wife of Vice President U Myint Swe, Dr. Shwe Hlwan, wife of Vice President U Henry Van Thio, Union Ministers and their wives, the Union Auditor-General, Chairman of Union Civil Service Board, Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, MPs and departmental heads and their wives, Patron of Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation and Chairperson, Chairperson of the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, UN agencies, INGOs and NGOs.

Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, suggested that giving a larger role to women in nation building tasks will speed up the country’s development.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar