July 5 (NMG) A woman candidate got second highest votes in a recent of election for Chairperson post at Network for Democracy and Development (NDD). The figure approved that the recognition of women leadership increased among Burmese oppositions.

The conference held from June 28 to July 2, the elected chairperson Kyaw Kyaw got majority of 16 votes while the runner up, Khin Ohmar got second highest 10 votes, said a conference delegate, Maram Noe Noe Htet San.

Maram Noe Noe Htet San who was elected as a member of Policy Board of NDD told NMG that “In the conference, 27 persons were entitled to vote and Ko Kyaw Kyaw obtained 16 and Ma Khin Ohmar got 10. We used secret voting system and I could not know who votes for whom. However, role of men also played a big role in that election.”

There were ten women delegates who attended to conference among 27 delegates.

Women issues were firstly introduced among border based Burmese anti-government activists as early as in the mid 1990. The demands of women participation in the leadership roles have been gradually recognized after a series of women movement in oppositions.

Since the formation of NDD on March 2001, an organization which is comprising of former student leaders, the founders decided to include at least 30 per cent of women participation in leadership in receptive roles.

In a similar initiative, another anti-government organization, Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS) is targeting a one-third participation of women in leadership role in their upcoming conference. Aung Moe Zaw revealed that his party decided the preparatory guidelines for women issues since recent conference in 2002.

Though there has been increasing number of women participations in politics, the Chairwoman of Burmese Women Union, Mi Sue Pwint said she is not satisfied the current situation. “Today women are allowed to participate in politics just because of pressures from funding agencies and current international scenarios. We have to encourage and do a lot of changes in order to get more women participations in the politics,” she said.

Network Media Group