A campaign in solidarity with the women of Burma, supported by Rights & Democracy
Support the women of Burma
Strip the military regime’s power
Send your panties for peace!
A humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions has been playing out in Burma for more than 20 years. Thousands have been killed and many thousands more arrested, forced into slave labour or displaced from their villages by the ruling military regime. Burma’s women have endured rape and other forms of systematic sexual violence employed by the military to enforce its control over the country’s ethnic minorities. On May 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis brought new and terrible suffering to the people of Burma, suffering made only worse by the military regime’s refusal to promptly accept the international community’s ensuing offers of humanitarian assistance. What began as a natural disaster was soon supplanted by a catastrophe rooted in the pride, paranoia and corruption of Burma’s military rulers.
The Panties for Peace Campaign
The Panties for Peace campaign was launched by the women’s organization Lanna Action for Burma (LAB) on Oct. 16, 2007, in the hopes of bringing an end to the military regime’s rampant abuse of Burma’s population – and the abuse of Burma’s women in particular. Founded in the wake of the military’s brutal response to monk-led pro-democracy uprisings in Burma last fall, the Panties for Peace campaign has been given new and pressing importance by the regime’s self-interested and inhumane response to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis. The campaign has been already launched around the world, in Australia, the Philippines, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, the USA and in Brazil.
What can panties do for peace in Burma?
The Panties for Peace campaign plays on the regime leaders’ superstitious fear that contact with a woman’s underpants will rob them of their power. Women around the world are asked to post their panties to local Burmese embassies in a bid to strip the regime of its power and bring an end to its gross violations of human rights, especially those committed against Burma’s women.
The Panties for Peace campaign in Canada
The Panties for Peace campaign in Quebec and across Canada was launched by a coalition of feminist and civil society organizations* coordinated by the Montreal-based Fédération des Femmes du Québec (Quebec Women’s Federation) and the Rights & Democracy Student Network. The goal of the Canadian campaign is to raise awareness about the human rights abuses against women in Burma and to encourage Canadian support for ongoing efforts to help victims of Burma’s decades-old humanitarian crisis.
Why now?
Organization for the Canadian Panties for Peace campaign began in early 2008. In the terrible wake of Cyclone Nargis, the campaign’s organizers asked the women of Burma whether they should go ahead with the campaign. The women of Lanna Action for Burma replied with a resounding “Yes!†“This campaign empowers the women of Burma a sense of purpose and hope,†they said, “and we need hope now more than ever.†Also, Cyclone Nargis was a natural disaster made worse by the military regime’s brutality and disregard for human rights.
*List of the members of the Coalition in support and solidarity with Lanna Action for Burma
Amis (es) québécois (es) de la Birmanie (AQB)
AQOCI (Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale)
Association pour la défense des droits sociaux Québec métro
CALACS de Rouyn-Noranda
CALACS Entre Elles – Lac St-Jean
Canadian Friends of Burma – Ami(e)s canadien(ne)s de la Birmanie
Centr’Elles, comité d’action des femmes d’Avignon
Centre Au CÅ“ur des Femmes
Centre avec des Elles
Centre de femmes de la MRC de Bonaventure
Centre de femmes l’Éclaircie
Centre de femmes l’Étincelle de Baie-Comeau
Centre de femmes Parmi Elles
Centre des femmes italiennes de Montréal
Centre-Femmes du Grand-Portage
Comité femmes du Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec
Conseil d’intervention pour l’accès des femmes au travail
Fédération des femmes du Québec
Fédération des ressources d’hébergement pour femmes violentées et en difficulté du Québec
Fédération québécoise pour le planning des naissances
Femmes en Mouvement
L’R des centres de femmes du Québec
L’autre Parole
Point d’appui
Regroupement Naissance-Renaissance
Regroupement provincial des maisons d’hébergement et de transition pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale
Regroupement québécois des CALACS (centres d’aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel)
Reporters sans frontières Canada
Rights and Democracy Student Network