Myanmar Women: ‘Our Place Is In The Revolution’
Every day at sunrise, Daisy* and her sisters set out to spend several hours in the heat cleaning debris from the previous day’s protests off the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.
Protests have erupted around the country since the military seized control of the government after arresting democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on 1 February, and declared a year-long state of emergency.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-profit rights organisation formed by former political prisoners from Myanmar and based in Thailand, 715 civilian protesters have been killed and more than 3,000 people have been charged, arrested or sentenced to prison for taking part in protests. 27 March marked the deadliest day of the anti-coup protests so far, with more than 100 deaths in a single day.
Daisy, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher, has been out of work since the first week of February, because schools have been closed as a result of the protests, but is the sole earner and carer for her two younger sisters, aged 15 and 13. Despite this, she spends a portion of whatever money she has left to help feed hungry protesters.
