Monday, February 12, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Women Journalists Say Access to Information More Challenging Under NLD

Posted: 11 Feb 2018 09:34 PM PST

YANGON – Access to information has become far more challenging under the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government, Myanmar women journalists told their Asian colleagues at the Women in News Southeast Asia summit in Yangon last Thursday. The discussion focused on ways of reshaping the media landscape.

Myanmar women journalists shared their experiences of reporting on politics under the NLD, discussed coverage of women's issues, and offered safety tips and advice on responding to harassment.

"Being a political journalist in this country is challenging, as we live in very sensitive and confrontational times," said Ma Ei Ei Toe Lwin, a political reporter and chief of staff of the bilingual newspaper Myanmar Times. In Myanmar, women make up just 23% of political reporters, according to a study, Gender in Myanmar News, published in November 2017 by the Myanmar Women Journalist Society (MWJS) and Fojo Media Institute.

As a speaker at the panel, she highlighted the overall challenges that media practitioners face under the civilian government, noting that news media do not yet have full rights to information or to freely conduct investigative reporting.

Over the past two years, only a handful of NLD lawmakers have been willing to speak freely to the media. Initially, the party restricted parliamentarians' ability to talk to journalists.

Myanmar media face "invisible lines" that pose barriers to press freedom as a whole, but little has been said about harassment of women journalists, either by their sources or in the newsroom, and other safety issues. Women journalists tend to simply bear these burdens and are unlikely to speak out against harassment or teasing (for being young women reporters), due to both cultural norms and lack of confidence.

Myanmar women are used to facing structural barriers, and the majority of women journalists tend not to raise their voices to seek greater roles at the editorial and management levels.  Women journalists tend to leave the industry after they marry or have a child.

But the landscape is slowly changing.

"I would urge my fellow women, including journalists, to push ourselves to sit at the table, in order to express our perspectives and show our ability, because we can do better," said Seng Mai, the chief editor of the Myitkyina News journal in Kachin State. She shared her own experiences of being hesitant to make decisions on some issues, while allowing her seniors to lead on decision-making.

"I used to think that my CEO's decision on a particular issue would be better than mine, due to the fact that the male senior, being the elder, was regarded as the appropriate decision-maker," she said.  "It is an obstacle for our own development, so we have to change ourselves."

The journalists also acknowledged the importance of male support and family understanding to the empowerment of women journalists. They urged male journalists to be supportive and champion a change in the mindset in order to have gender equality in the newsroom.

The second annual summit organized by the World Association of Newspaper and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) with support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs covered key challenges and opportunities to increase the leadership roles of women and their voices in the news media industry, and the safety of women journalists in the industry.

Joined by a few dozen participants from Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and India, the themes discussed ranged from press freedom in Myanmar, the social media influence in the region, fake news and attacks on journalists on social media, to cultural norms and challenges facing women in leadership roles. The participants of the Women In News summit also highlighted a lack of safety policies within media companies, which have an impact on the safety and harassment of their female colleagues.

Renowned journalists like Rappler founder Maria Ressa from the Philippines, Stella Paul from India and Tran Le Thuy from Vietnam shared their experiences in digital journalism, tackling attacks on women journalists, pushing boundaries in investigative reporting and overcoming challenges to take a decision making role in the industry. At the roundtable discussion, recommendations regarding enhancing the safety of women journalists and increasing women's leadership were laid out for participants to share with the leaders of their countries.

The post Women Journalists Say Access to Information More Challenging Under NLD appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

On Union Day, Ethnic Groups Say They Are Still Second-Class Citizens

Posted: 11 Feb 2018 09:02 PM PST

Myanmar celebrates its 71st Union Day on Feb. 12. The holiday commemorates the day in 1947 on which ethnic leaders signed the Panglong Agreement with General Aung San, calling for the establishment of a federal Union of states upon independence from Britain.

Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army, told The Irrawaddy that as a young student he was happy when Union Day came around each year. As he learned more about politics, however, he said the annual commemoration became less of a source of happiness for him.

"It is not a real Union. I feel the country's indigenous ethnic people have been treated like second-class citizens," he said.

The Kachin ethnic armed group has yet to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), and is engaged in ongoing clashes with the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, in the north of the country.

"We have mixed feelings on Union Day, as we do not yet have freedom, we do not have equal rights, and we have yet to achieve political rights," he said.

More than 100,000 Kachin people have become internally displaced persons (IDPs) since the 2011 collapse of a ceasefire between the KIA and the Tatmadaw that had lasted for 17 years.

The 1947 Panglong Agreement was signed between Gen Aung San and leaders of ethnic groups including the Kachin, Shan, and Chin. They had high expectations that signing the agreement would lead to equal rights for their people. However, this dream failed to become a reality as the military assumed control of the country and repressed ethnic peoples instead of offering equal rights.

Arakan National Party lawmaker U Pe Than said, "Our ethnic people trusted Gen Aung San greatly. They trusted that he would be able to secure equal rights for them after independence."

However, he said, "Today, we have a Union in name only. We need a genuine Union. But the Burmese alone have ruled this Union for many generations and they remain the most influential group within it."

"It is important to have a Union that is like a tree, with equal rights for all. We should think like brothers, and we should not discriminate against certain groups. We should live as one community, with equal opportunity for all," he said.

Some people fight for political rights within the law by forming political parties, he said, while others take up arms to fight for their ethnic and political rights.

"We are fighting a civil war in this country; the denial of rights to ethnic people has slowed development," U Pe Than said.

Myanmar began a process of political reform in 2010 after more than 50 years of military rule. The reforms signaled the arrival of democracy in the country. Of the 21 recognized ethnic armed groups, eight signed the NCA with the government of U Thein Sein.

When the National League for Democracy won the election in 2015, its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, became the de facto head of government. She organized a new Panglong Conference to conduct political dialogue with ethnic groups.

A political agreement was reached at the Panglong Conference to propose an amendment to the 2008 Constitution, which was written by the military. In this way, the ethnic armed and political organizations sought to try and work with the NLD-led democratic government. However, their chances of success remained unclear as the military retains power in the country.

Colonel Sai Oo, a spokesperson for the Restoration Council of Shan State, said: "We used armed struggle and fought to have a real Union for many years, but we did not get it. We have walked on the road of democracy, and worked together with the NLD government to build a real Union."

However, he said, "We are not clear about what type of democracy we have in the country now. Or even whether we have a genuine Union."

Based in southern Shan State, the RCSS is one of the ethnic armed groups that has signed the NCA with the government.

Regarding ethnic rights, Col Sai Oo said minority ethnic people still do not have the rights to own their natural resources, as the Myanmar government sill controls everything.

"Until our country has equal rights, we can not recognize this as a real Union. They took it all [the country's natural resources] under their control as they were the majority group. They really should share it," he said.

The post On Union Day, Ethnic Groups Say They Are Still Second-Class Citizens appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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