Women in Hakha Forced to Attend Myanmar Women's Day on Sunday

Myanmar Women's Day in Hakha ( Photo : CHRO )

06 July 2011: Women employees of government departments in Hakha Town, Chin State were ordered to participate in a ceremony marking Myanmar Women's Day last Sunday.

About 1,000 women, with the majority being Christian, attended the event held at Hakha Town Hall in the morning, where local church services starts at 10am on Sundays.


A local resident in Hakha told Chinland Guardian: "The ceremony fell on Sunday and they [women] were asked by force to attend. Whether they agreed or not, they had to follow the instructions."

About 50 high school students were also forced to make an appearance at the Sunday's ceremony in their Chin national dresses, according to the Hakha local whose sister was also in the attendance.

"My sister said their boss told each one of them to go to the ceremony. She didn't know what could have happened to her if she didn't go. But they just had to do what they were told," added the local.

Chin State Chief Minister U Hung Ngai was claimed to have attended the ceremony, which took place from 8am to 11am.

Myanmar Women's Day was first organised on 3 July 1998, the founding day of the Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs (MNCWA) in 1996 following the participation of Myanmar delegation at the 4th World Conference on women held in Beijing, China in 1995.

Source:http://www.chinlandguardian.com/news-2009/1404-women-in-hakha-forced-to-attend-myanmar-womens-day-on-sunday.html