Myanmar: Moving the Earth: Women Take On Land Aggressors

May 3, 2015 | Sonya Carassik Ratty, Democratic Voice of Burma
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From the platinum reserves in eastern Shan State to the Shwe gas pipeline in south-western Arakan, much of Burma’s wealth lies in the earth. As forced resettlements and farmland seizures continue to form the foundations of the country’s economic transformation, women consistently outnumber men on the front lines of Burma’s land rights rallies. In scenes from the infamous Latpadaung copper mine, scores of women stand their ground and face off with authorities, protesting the thousands of acres of land taken from residents, and what they say is pitiful compensation. On one of these occasions in November, a local woman Khin Win was shot dead by police.