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THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE AND DIGNITY -
AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Opening Keynote Address
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 Aung
San Suu Kyi.
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Aung
San Suu Kyi's Keynote Address.
It follows the full text transcript of
Aung San Suu Kyi's Opening Keynote Address at
the NGO Forum on Women, delivered via video at Huairou,
China — August 31, 1995. |
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It is a wonderful
but daunting task that has fallen on me to say |
few words by way
of opening this Forum, the greatest concourse of
women (joined by a few brave men!) that has ever
gathered on our planet. I want to try and voice
some of the common hopes which firmly unite us
in all our splendid diversity.
But first I would
like to explain why I cannot be with you in
person today. Last month I was released from
almost six years of house arrest. The regaining
of my freedom has in turn imposed a duty on me
to work for the freedom of other women and men
in my country who have suffered far more -- an
who continue to suffer far more -- than I have.
It is this duty which prevents me from joining
you today. Even sending this message to you has
not been without difficulties. But the help of
those who believe in international cooperation
and freedom of expression has enabled me to
overcome the obstacles. They made it possible
for me to make a small contribution to this
great celebration of the struggle of women to
mould their own destiny and to influence the
fate of our global village.
The opening
plenary of this Forum will be presenting an
overview of the global forces affecting the
quality of life of the human community and the
challenges they pose for the global community as
a whole and for women in particular as we
approach the twenty-first century. However, with
true womanly understanding, the Convener of this
Forum suggested that among these global forces
and challenges, I might wish to concentrate on
those matters which occupy all my waking
thoughts these days: peace, security, human
rights and democracy. I would like to discuss
these issues particularly in the context of the
participation of women in politics and
governance.
For millennia
women have dedicated themselves almost
exclusively to the task of nurturing, protecting
and caring for the young and the old, striving
for the conditions of peace that favor life as a
whole. To this can be added the fact that, to
the best of my knowledge, no war was ever
started by women. But it is women and children
who have always suffered most in situations of
conflict. Now that we are gaining control of the
primary historical role imposed on us of
sustaining life in the context of the home and
family, it is time to apply in the arena of the
world the wisdom and experience thus gained in
activities of peace over so many thousands of
years. The education and empowerment of women
throughout the world cannot fail to result in a
more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life
for all.
If to these
universal benefits of the growing emancipation
of women can be added the "peace dividend" for
human development offered by the end of the Cold
War, spending less on the war toys of grown men
and much more on the urgent needs of humanity as
a whole, then truly the next millennia will be
an age the like of which has never been seen in
human history. But there still remain many
obstacles to be overcome before we can achieve
this goal. And not least among those obstacles
are intolerance and insecurity.
This year is the
International Year for Tolerance. The United
Nations has recognized that "tolerance, human
rights, democracy and peace are closely related.
Without tolerance, the foundations form
democracy and respect for human rights cannot be
strengthened, and the achievement of peace will
remain elusive." My own experience during the
years I have been engaged in the democracy
movement of Burma has convinced me of the need
to emphasize the positive aspect of tolerance.
It is not enough simply to "live and let live":
genuine tolerance requires an active effort to
try to understand the point of view of others;
it implies broad-mindedness and vision, as well
as confidence in one's own ability to meet new
challenges without resorting to intransigence or
violence. In societies where men are truly
confident of their own worth women are not
merely "tolerated", they are valued. Their
opinions are listened to with respect, they are
given their rightful place in shaping the
society in which they live.
There is an
outmoded Burmese proverb still recited by men
who wish to deny that women too can play a part
in bringing necessary change and progress to
their society: "The dawn rises only when the
rooster crows." But Burmese people today are
well aware of the scientific reasons behind the
rising of dawn and the falling of dusk. And the
intelligent rooster surely realizes that it is
because dawn comes that it crows and not the
other way round. It crows to welcome the light
that has come to relieve the darkness of night.
It is not the prerogative of men alone to bring
light to this world: women with their capacity
for compassion and self-sacrifice, their courage
and perseverance, have done much to dissipate
the darkness of intolerance and hate, suffering
and despair.
Often the other
side of the coin of intolerance is insecurity.
Insecure people tend to be intolerant, and their
intolerance unleashes forces that threaten the
security of others. And where there is no
security there can be no lasting peace. In its
"Human Development Report" for last year the
UNDP noted that human security "is not a concern
with weapons -- it is a concern with human life
and dignity." The struggle for democracy and
human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and
dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our
political, social and economic aspirations. The
people of my country want the two freedoms that
spell security: freedom from want and freedom
from fear. It is want that has driven so many of
our young girls across our borders to a life of
sexual slavery where they are subject to
constant humiliation and ill-treatment. It is
fear of persecution for their political beliefs
that has made so many of our people feel that
even in their own homes they cannot live in
dignity and security.
Traditionally the
home is the domain of the woman. But there has
never been a guarantee that she can live out her
life there safe and unmolested. There are
countless women who are subjected to severe
cruelty within the heart of the family which
should be their haven. And in times of crisis
when their menfolk are unable to give them
protection, women have to face the harsh
challenges of the world outside while continuing
to discharge their duties within the home.
Many of my male
colleagues who have suffered imprisonment for
their part in the democracy movement have spoken
of the great debt of gratitude they owe their
womenfolk, particularly to their wives who stood
by them firmly, tender as mothers nursing their
newly born, brave as lionesses defending their
young. These magnificent human beings who have
done so much to aid their men in the struggle
for justice and peace -- how much more could
they not achieve if given the opportunity to
work in their own right for the good of their
country and of the world.
Our endeavors have
also been sustained by the activities of strong
and principled women all over the world who have
campaigned not only for my own release but, more
importantly, for our cause. I cannot let this
opportunity pass without speaking of the
gratitude we feel towards our sisters
everywhere, from heads of government to busy
housewives. Their efforts have been a triumphant
demonstration of female solidarity and of the
power of an ideal to cross all frontiers.
In my country at
present, women have no participation in the
higher levels of government and none whatsoever
in the judiciary. Even within the democratic
movement only 14 out of the 485 MPS elected in
1990 were women -- all from my own party, the
National League for Democracy. These 14 women
represent less than 3 percent of the total
number of successful candidates. They, like
their male colleagues, have not been permitted
to take office since the outcome of those
elections has been totally ignored. Yet the very
high performance of women in our educational
system and in the management of commercial
enterprises proves their enormous potential to
contribute to the betterment of society in
general. Meanwhile our women have yet to achieve
those fundamental rights of free expression
association and security of life denied also to
their menfolk.
The adversities
that we have had to face together have taught
all of us involved in the struggle to build a
truly democratic political system in Burma that
there are no gender barriers that cannot be
overcome. The relationship between men and women
should, and can be, characterized not by
patronizing behavior or exploitation, but by
METTA (that is to say loving kindness),
partnership and trust. We need mutual respect
and understanding between men and women, instead
of patriarchal domination and degradation, which
are expressions of violence and engender
counter-violence. We can learn from each other
help one another to moderate the "gender
weaknesses" imposed upon us by traditional or
biological factors.
There is an age
old prejudice the world over to effect that
women talk too much. But is this really a
weakness? Could it not in fact be a strength?
Recent scientific research on the human brain
has revealed that women are better at verbal
skills while men tend towards physical action.
Psychological research has shown on the other
hand that disinformation engendered by men has a
far more damaging effect on its victims than
feminine gossip. Surely these discoveries
indicate that women have a most valuable
contribution to make in situations of conflict,
by leading the way to solutions based on
dialogue rather than on viciousness or violence?
The Buddhist
PAVARANA ceremony at the end of the rainy season
retreat was instituted by the Lord Buddha, who
did not want human beings to live in silence
"like dumb animals." This ceremony, during which
monks ask mutual forgiveness for any offence
given during the retreat, can be said to be a
council of truth and reconciliation. It might
also be considered a forerunner of that most
democratic of institutions, the parliament, a
meeting of peoples gathered together to talk
over their shared problems. All the world's
great religions are dedicated to the generation
of happiness and harmony. This demonstrates the
fact that together with the combative instincts
of man there co-exists a spiritual aspiration
for mutual understanding and peace.
This forum of
non-governmental organizations represents the
belief in the ability of intelligent human
beings to resolve conflicting interests through
exchange and dialogue. It also represents the
conviction that governments alone cannot resolve
all the problems of their countries. The
watchfulness and active cooperation of
organizations outside the spheres of officialdom
are necessary to ensure the four essential
components of the human development paradigm as
identified by the UNDP: productivity, equity,
sustainability and empowerment. The last is
particularly relevant: it requires that
"development must be BY people, not only FOR
them. People must participate fully in the
decisions and processes that shape their lives."
In other words people must be allowed to play a
significant role in the governance of their
country. And "people" include women who make up
at least half of the world's population.
The last six years
afforded me much time and food for thought. I
came to the conclusion that the human race is
not divided into two opposing camps of good and
evil. It is made up of those who are capable of
learning and those who are incapable of doing
so. Here I am not talking of learning in the
narrow sense of acquiring an academic education,
but of learning as the process of absorbing
those lessons of life that enable us to increase
peace and happiness in our world. Women in their
role as mothers have traditionally assumed the
responsibility of teaching children values that
will guide them throughout their lives. It is
time we were given the full opportunity to use
our natural teaching skills to contribute
towards building a modern world that can
withstand the tremendous challenges of the
technological revolution which has in turn
brought revolutionary changes in social values.
As we strive to
teach others we must have the humility to
acknowledge that we too still have much to
learn. And we must have the flexibility to adapt
to the changing needs of the world around us.
Women who have been taught that modesty and
pliancy are among the prized virtues of our
gender are marvelously equipped for the learning
process. But they must be given the opportunity
to turn these often merely passive virtues into
positive assets for the society in which they
live.
These, then, are
our common hopes that unite us -- that as the
shackles of prejudice and intolerance fall from
our own limbs we can together strive to identify
and remove the impediments to human development
everywhere. The mechanisms by which this great
task is to be achieved provide the proper focus
of this great Forum. I feel sure that women
throughout the world who, like me, cannot be
with you join me now in sending you all our
prayers and good wishes for a joyful and
productive meeting.
I thank you.
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