• Burmese
Thursday, June 19, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Women’s Federation to Undergo Overhaul

Htet Naing Zaw by Htet Naing Zaw
December 27, 2016
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Honorable patron of the Myanmar Women Affairs Federation Daw Khin Khin Win, wife of former President U Thein Sein, views products displayed by women’s vocational training schools on International Women’s Day in 2015. / GNLM

Honorable patron of the Myanmar Women Affairs Federation Daw Khin Khin Win, wife of former President U Thein Sein, views products displayed by women’s vocational training schools on International Women’s Day in 2015. / GNLM

12.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

NAYPYIDAW — The Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation (MWAF) will be restructured as an independent organization that represents the country’s women, announced the Myanmar National Committee for Women’s Affairs (MNCWA).

The MWAF was formed in December 2003 as a non-governmental organization by wives of senior government officials and military officers under the military regime.

At that time, the wives of then Snr-Gen Than Shwe, then Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, and then Gen Shwe Mann served as honorary patrons while the wife of former Gen Khin Nyunt chaired the MWAF.

RelatedPosts

Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

June 17, 2025
5.9k
Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

June 16, 2025
530
Trump Unveils Website For $5 Million US Residency Visa

Trump Unveils Website For $5 Million US Residency Visa

June 12, 2025
454

Wives of state leaders have continued to act as honorary patrons and presidents of the MWAF under successive governments. The federation was widely viewed as affiliated with the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which became a political party ahead of the 2010 election.

In the current structure, wives of the heads of general administration departments take chairperson positions in women’s affairs associations at division, state, and township levels while the central executive commission member positions are reserved for wives of senior leaders.

“It needs to undergo a restructuring if we want to see it as an independent civil society organization,” said Dr. Win Myat Aye, chairperson of the MNCWA which was formed in 2013 as a government committee for the advancement of women.

“We have held discussions with the MWAF and said that it needs to be reorganized with active and independent individual women,” said Dr. Win Myat Aye, who is also the Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.

Following the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) resulting from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995, the first ever MNCWA was formed on July 3, 1996 to ensure security and development for women.

However, the committee’s limitations eventually led to the formation of the MWAF on Dec. 20 the same year.

According to its website, the MWAF has six departments and six working groups engaged in the prevention of trafficking and violence against women and promotion of their livelihoods and social status.

Daw May Sabe Phyu, a women’s rights activist and director of the Gender Equality Network, has welcomed the move, suggesting that a complete overhaul of the federation both in terms of policy and membership is necessary.

She criticized the current top-down structure and said she hoped an independent organization not affiliated with any political party or the government would be able to serve the interests of women.

“Though our country now has a government and citizens that want change, there are still many people who resist change,” she told The Irrawaddy, expressing her concerns about the viability of the plan.

Lawmaker Daw Ei Ei Pyone asked the government if it had a plan to transform the Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MCWA) and the MWAF as independent organizations in the Upper House session on Nov. 17.

Union Minister for Health and Sports Dr. Myint Htwe promised to transform the MCWA into an independent organization, but said that he was not responsible for the MWAF.

Daw Ei Ei Pyone pursued her question with the Union government where Dr. Win Myat Aye replied that he would take action in cooperation with the MWAF for restructuring in line with rules and regulations.

“It does not matter who takes the chairperson positions, what is important is she must be a woman activist dedicated to the welfare of women,” Dr. Win Myat Aye told The Irrawaddy.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Civil Society OrganizationsPoliticsWomen
Htet Naing Zaw

Htet Naing Zaw

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Junta Begins Forced Conscription of Women in Some Areas, Residents Say
Burma

Myanmar Junta Begins Forced Conscription of Women in Some Areas, Residents Say

by Hein Htoo Zan
May 31, 2024
13.5k

The regime is selecting women from lists of eligible conscripts and building barracks for them in Ayeyarwady; in Bago, women...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand
Guest Column

Myanmar Civil Society, Burmanization, and the Bars and Coffee Shops of Thailand

by R. J. Aung and Tony Waters
November 18, 2023
10.9k

After the 2021 coup the donors, NGOs and CSOs of ‘Peaceland’ decamped from Yangon to Thailand, but their Western, ‘we-know-best’...

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.8k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Guest Column

The Uncertain Future of Myanmar’s Rakhine State

by David Scott Mathieson
March 19, 2025
9.6k

The Arakan Army must now consolidate its unprecedented territorial gains in Rakhine State and contend with humanitarian, intercommunal and international...

Read moreDetails
Dead or Alive: Min Aung Hlaing’s Final Gamble
Commentary

Dead or Alive: Min Aung Hlaing’s Final Gamble

by San Yeik Nyein
May 23, 2025
9.1k

As his regime loses ground, the Myanmar junta boss turns to strongmen overseas. But inside military circles, one question remains:...

Read moreDetails
Charting Myanmar Strongman Ne Win’s Tragic Legacy
Books

Charting Myanmar Strongman Ne Win’s Tragic Legacy

by Mon Mon Myat
July 18, 2024
9k

In a new book, Saw Eh Htoo and Tony Waters examine the late dictator’s policy of Burmanization and how it...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Border guard security forces on patrol along the Burma-Bangladesh border in Maungdaw, October 2016. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy

Vice President: Maungdaw Attacks Conspired to ‘Harm the Sovereignty of the Country’

Mary the elephant’s mother was slain by poachers / Supplied

Orphaned Elephant Found in Irrawaddy Division

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

3 days ago
1.6k
China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

2 days ago
1.4k

Most Read

  • Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Bago Resistance Claims 20 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.