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Feminists Around the World: Wai Wai Nu · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. I know what come
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: to stafmon. I never told you a prorection, but iHeart radio.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: And welcome to another feminist around the world. We are
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: still doing the AAPI History Month. Of course, we're going
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: a little bit outside of the US because that's what
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: we typically like to do, and today we are focusing
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: on Me and Mar slash Burma and an activist from there.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: We were talking about way Way new who is an activist,
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: an advocate who's been working to empower people all over
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: the world and her story is pretty amazing. Yeah. So
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Nu was born in me and Mar where she grew
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: up with her family who are part of the Rowhinja community.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: And if you look up this community, it's pretty in
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: depth and there's a lot of conversations, so you have
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: to read a lot. I decided this is one of
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: those regions are like, if I'm not a real expert,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to go into it because I'm afraid
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: of all of the mistakes I'm about to make. But
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: here's what we do know. The Rowhinja people are considered
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: one of the most persecuted ethnic minorities according to a
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: National Geographic article, and are primarily a Muslim community, with
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: a small group identifying as Hindu, and at one point
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: in time there were an estimated one point four million
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Rowhinja people who were residents of Me and Mar, But
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: in twenty seventeen, after at least one hundred thousand were
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: imprisoned in camps for quote internally displaced persons, many others
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: fled to two surrounded countries at that point. So in
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  Speaker 2: nineteen eighty two, after the passing of the new citizenship
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  Speaker 2: law through Rohinjas were stripped of their citizenships and no
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: longer recognized as an ethnic group in Me and Mars.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: So that means they had no rise and it's still
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: that way today and though many have left Me and
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Mar due to this type of persecution, there are still
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: an estimated six hundred thousand Rowhinja people.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: And a news father fought against the government and as
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: a political activist had to run for parts as a
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: National League of Democracy or a n LD party member
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: in the nineteen ninety general election. He was an advocate
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: for the people of Myanmar and fought for labor and
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: human rights, and though he was elected as a member
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: of parliament, the Military Hunter or the military group who
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: took control of the country by force, much like what
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: is happening now, would not allow for the voted officials
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: to take their roles. Instead, many of the elected officials
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: were immediately arrested after the results of the election. However,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: news father was not one of those who were immediately arrested.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: It wasn't until two thousand and five that he and
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: the rest of the family, including Knew, would be arrested.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Knew had already started school and was in her second
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: year of law school when she was arrested.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right, and at that time, she nor her family
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: had any representation and were all sentenced to prison. She
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: was sentenced to seventeen years along with the rest of
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: our family, except for her father, who was sentenced to
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: forty four years. There was not a clear reason for
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: the sentencings. Some reported it was due to imtegrate violations,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: while others reported sedition. She and her family were in
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: prison until twenty twelve when they were finally given amnesty
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: by the President of b and Mar. At that time,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: and it was during her time of incarceration she and
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: her family went through severe mistreatment, causing health problems for
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: several of the family members. For the rest of their lives,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: and while she was in prison, she was able to
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: hear the stories of many of the women with her
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: and learned of the different types of hardships that those
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: women's face living under that regime. In an interview with
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Time magazine, she said, after meeting so many people in
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: prison who were not guilty of crimes, I realized I
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: wanted to do something that could really change the country's
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: political and economic system, and went on to say in
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: another interview with Reuters, I didn't want to wallow in
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: self pity after meeting them. Insane prison was my university
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: about life.
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  Speaker 1: After being released, Nu went on to earn her law
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: degree at the Young Gun East University and would go
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: on to start several nonprofits for her community. She started
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Women's Peace Network are Ken, where she worked for Peace
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: for the People of meandmar and Justice for Women, which
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: is a network of women who are lawyers to provide
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: legal assistance for women in need. And she has used
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: her advocacy all over the world, speaking and educating people
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: on the issue of domestic violence and on sexual harassment,
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  Speaker 1: and part of her work has included working for diversity
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: and tolerance using the power of social media, and new
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: launched a Twitter campaign to that end with hashtag my
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  Speaker 1: friend to show diversity through friendships all over the world.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Right and as the situation and mean mare continues to
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: be dangerous, she's been working to bring attention to what
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: is happening in her country. She's been outspoken about the
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: world's lack of response to the situation with the row
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: Hingja people. She wrote recently in the Jerusalem Post quote
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: the international response to these atrocities has been frustratingly inadequate.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Though the same military that stage decup in February twenty
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: twenty one has been terrorizing the hundred people for decades.
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  Speaker 2: The US only recently determined in March that their actions
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: amounted to genocide, something we've been urging the US government
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: to do for years. And she's been using her platform
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: to implore the officials all around the world to step
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: up to help those who are being persecuted by the
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Junta of man Maar. And just last year, she's been
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: able to publish articles all over the world to implore
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: the government officials to take measures against the oppress of
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  Speaker 2: regime within her country today and her work has been noticed.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Yes, she has been awarded the n Peace Award in
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  Speaker 1: twenty fourteen, named one of the top one hundred Global
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  Speaker 1: thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine, also named one of Salt
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  Speaker 1: and Dago's one hundred Inspiring Women by Salt Magazine, and
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: named one of the Next Generation Leaders by Time Magazine.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: She received the Hillary Clinton Award from Georgetown University in
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  Speaker 1: twenty eighteen. Twenty nineteen, she was selected as an Obama
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Foundation Scholar at Columbia University. In twenty twenty, she was
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: elected as a Genocide Prevention Fellow by the United States
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  Speaker 1: Holocaust Memorial Museum, and she received the City of Athens
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  Speaker 1: Democracy Award from the Democracy and Culture Foundation in twenty
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  Speaker 1: two Anyone.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Right, so she's doing a lot of work, and of
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: course we do want to hear what is happening because
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: we know the situation and me and Mars still ongoing.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: There's not a lot coming out. They've definitely taken out
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: all of any kind of social media. A lot of
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: journalists are not able to get into there or out
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: of there. So there's a lot of conversation about what
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: is happening today and how dangerous that situation really is,
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: and the fact that we have not heard too much
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: outside of some of the horsors that are able to
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: reach out outside of the titan knit government and closed
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: off government of me and mar. So if anybody knows
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: updates that they can share with us, please.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Do Yes, yes, as always, and you can send those
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: two us at our email which is stephaniamomsteffantiheartmedia dot com.
• 6:45
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• 6:47
  Speaker 1: or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I've Never told You.
• 6:50
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• 6:52
  Speaker 1: out that you can pre order at stuff you should
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: read Books dot com. Thanks as always to our super
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: producer Christina, our executive producer Maya, our contributor Joey, Thank
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: you all, yes, and thank you all for listening. Steffan
• 7:04
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