Ta'ang Women Organization

The Ta'ang Women's Organization (TWO) was founded in October 2000 in Mae Sot, Thailand, under the name Palaung Women's Organization (PWO). It seeks a federal and democratic society with peace, equality and justice, and has set five objectives[1].

It aims to remove the restrictions placed on women in various sectors because of gender discrimination under customs and traditions within Ta'ang society, and to achieve equality. It has four programmes: strengthening women's political capacity, ending violence against women, community development and humanitarian assistance, and news, documentation, research and information work.

TWO's objectives include preserving and promoting Ta'ang tradition and culture through producing and distributing traditional textiles, and its work includes a "revenue flow programme" that sells traditional textiles and other goods for the organization's funds, and teaching Ta'ang literature as a subject in capacity-building courses.

Because of political changes, in 2012 the organization moved inside the country to work more closely with the Ta'ang people. From its fifth conference onward, it changed its name from "association" to Ta'ang Women's Organization and has carried out its activities under that name.

To strengthen women's political capacity, since its founding it has run short courses on human rights and women's rights, three-month courses on basic politics and human rights, and ten-month women's leadership courses in 16 townships where most Ta'ang people live. To end violence against women in communities, it also holds awareness discussions, opens safe houses for survivors of violence, and forms village violence-reduction committees with local residents to reduce gender-based violence.

Because the areas where most Ta'ang people live are home to both the terrorist junta and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and see much armed conflict, since 2012 TWO has worked to help displaced people, provide food, and secure drinking water and health services. In doing so, it also documents human rights violations in the region, trains young people in documentation, and issues reports and statements and holds press conferences based on the information gathered. To date it has published five reports[2], titled "Poisoned Hills", "Lives Under Occupation", "Voices for Change", "Trained to Torture" and "The Peace That Never Comes".

When Ta'ang people, a minority, have been arrested, shot and killed[4], and women raped[5], in the wake of armed conflict[3] involving the terrorist military and powerful ethnic armed forces in the region, TWO has repeatedly issued position statements[6] and objections[7]. When armed conflict in the region intensified, it also joined other civil society organizations in protests[8] calling for respect for peace and human rights.

Together with the Ta'ang Legal Aid (TLA) and the Ta'ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO), TWO also issued a statement[9] on July 5 objecting to the authorities' forceful crackdown in July 2018 on protesters over the General Aung San statue in Kayah (Karenni) State, though this was outside its own region.

On October 10, 2018, together with the Lahu Women's Organization (LWO), the Pa-O Women's Union (PWU) and the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), it issued a statement[10] saying that peace, security, human rights and the rule of law in Shan State were collapsing and deteriorating because of armed conflict between the terrorist military and EAOs and between EAOs.

In February 2019, TWO held its seventh conference[11] in Lashio, deciding to work together for ethnic self-determination and equality. In March 2019, TWO also took part in protests calling for an end to the arrest and torture of innocent civilians during fighting, and for the RCSS, an NCA signatory, to comply with the agreement's provisions[12].

TWO is a member of the Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma), and on July 26, 2019, issued a report on the human rights situation in ceasefire areas titled "Undermining Trust-Building"[13]. TWO has also documented and published casualties, arrests and detentions, landmine incidents and the situation of displaced people caused by armed conflict in the region. Together with other civil society organizations, on December 9, 2019, it also released the report "Talk Less, Do More – A Review of the Performance of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission"[14].

During the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, it distributed World Health Organization (WHO) health warnings in the Ta'ang language in the region. On April 10, 2020, together with ND-Burma, it also called[15] for the Myanmar military to comply with the global (unconditional) ceasefire during COVID-19 and to stop attacks immediately. During that period, TWO provided urgently needed food and medical assistance in areas under movement restrictions.

During the 2020 election period, because a candidate's emblem closely resembled the Ta'ang Women's Organization's logo, it announced[16] that this was not TWO's logo. In its 20th-anniversary position statement issued on October 14, 2020, it said that free and fair elections are important and that fighting must stop so voters can vote safely and freely[17].

Although TWO issued no statement on the February 1, 2021, military coup, it continued relief, support and training work for people in the region. In March 2022, together with 71 civil society organizations, it demanded[18] that the RCSS/SSA apologize to the Ta'ang people and seek justice for its killing of Ta'ang (Palaung) National Party chair Mai Nom Han, his wife and their seven-month-old daughter. On October 25, Ta'ang civil society organizations (TSO) declared[19] that the terrorist junta's air strike on A Nang Pa village, Hpakant, Kachin State, violated the Geneva Conventions and was a war crime. During the coup period, TWO has continued women-based activities, relief for displaced people, and documentation of violence and armed conflict.

On December 10, 2022 (International Human Rights Day), it issued position statement 4/2022[20] on the terrorist junta's air attacks targeting civilians, calling on the international community not to recognize the junta, to impose sanctions, and to stop aviation fuel imports.

On January 16, 2023, it announced five services[21] that women and children who have experienced violence can request from Ta'ang women.

After holding its ninth conference from February 10 to 12, 2023, in a liberated area of the Ta'ang region, the executive committee announced[22] that it would work together with the revolutionary forces striving to uproot dictatorship and bring about federal democracy.

In 2/2023[23], issued on October 14 to mark the organization's 23rd anniversary, TWO declared that it had taken part in many ways with the revolutionary forces that emerged in the Spring Revolution, and would fight for the flourishing of a federal system and for self-determination. It has also opened camps to assist displaced people, and documented and published civilian deaths and injuries and the damage and loss of homes[24] caused by the terrorist junta's heavy artillery and air strikes in Kunlong, Pansai (Kyukok), Namhkam, Namhpatkar, Kutkai, Hseni, Nammatu, Lashio and Nawnghkio. After Operation 10:27 by the three Northern Alliance brothers, it also published, for the international and domestic public, civilian deaths and injuries following armed conflict in northern Shan, where most Ta'ang people live, as well as injuries from landmines.

In the course of its work helping and treating displaced people in religious and social buildings, TWO published an account[25] of the terrorist junta's January 3, 2024, air strike on Kyaukkham monastery in Hseni Township, Lashio District, northern Shan, which killed a tenth-grade student and injured ten people, including children. In March 2024, it took part in the Ta'ang Women's Forum, titled "Gender Equality Is Everyone's Responsibility".

On April 11, it published further data[26] on deaths, injuries and arrests in northern Shan caused by the terrorist junta's air strikes, artillery fire, and arrests and torture, even though there had been no fighting since the Haigeng agreement was signed.

From June 6 to 8, 2024, TWO took part as a leading organization in the Ta'ang Civil Society Organizations Seminar. The seminar was also attended by the Ta'ang Political Consultative Committee (TPCC), the Ta'ang Land Education Council (TLEC), the Ta'ang Environmental Watch Group (TEWG) and Ta'ang media. As a result, civil society organizations adopted[27] common agreements for sector-based work in the Ta'ang region, network organizing and restructuring, positions and next steps. They also stated that the regrouped civil society organizations will not be under the influence of any armed organization but will be independent, free and fair organizations that prioritize living together with other ethnic groups.

Organization pages

https://www.facebook.com/taangwomenorganization

https://taangwomen.org/

Contact

twotaangidrd@gmail.com

+95 9 40387 7690

Logo

https://www.facebook.com/108614231688419/photos/pb.100080287531489.-2207520000/108615925021583/?type=3

[1]https://taangwomen.org/burmese/?page_id=2093

[2]https://taangwomen.org/burmese/?cat=5

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[8]https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1759067571031751&set=a.1674558042816038

[9]https://www.facebook.com/taangwomenorganization/posts/pfbid0M39ubZeK761aAs6anMxfBbfV8vYs1bQbBDCWoGRzkyAERSkfq4WrKh6yzZpsVUHtl

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[16]https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2867215310216966&set=a.1674558042816038

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[26]https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=842014468106962&set=a.469382215370191&__tn__=%2CO*F

[27]https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=883014420673633&set=a.469382222036857