anti-coup protests - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

With ‘Sarong Revolution’, women in Myanmar defy coup and patriarchy

BEN LIH YI AS women take a frontline role in anti-coup protests in Myanmar, some have found an inventive way of defying military rule - hanging traditional sarongs, underwear and even sanitary pads in the streets to spook superstitious policemen and soldiers. The movement, dubbed the "Sarong Revolution" by feminists, plays on a belief that deems it bad luck for men to walk beneath women's clothing and highlights women's fears that the February 1 coup could roll back hard-won gains on gender equality. "The htamein (sarong) has become our tool at the protests," said Naw Esther Chit, 28, an ethnic…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

In Myanmar, LGBT+ people join anti-coup protests with rainbow flags

LGBT+

GROWING up in rural Myanmar, Du Wun shunned the jewellery his mother pressed him to wear and dreaded ceremonies where he had to dress in a traditional htamein, a sarong-like garment for women. Du Wun, a transgender man, was bullied as a teenager and disowned by his parents. He only began to accept his gender identity when he connected with other LGBT+ people - a lifeline he fears is under threat following a Feb. 1 military coup. "I was intimidated and ashamed about my identity," said Du Wun, 26, who decided to quit his job as a teacher in 2016…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

9th day of protests in Myanmar as army faces crippling mass strike

WORLD

HUNDREDS of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar for a ninth day of anti-coup protests on Sunday, as the new army rulers grappled to contain a strike by government workers that could cripple their ability to run the country. As evening fell, armoured vehicles were seen in the commercial capital of Yangon for the first time since the Feb. 1 coup. The U.S embassy in the country urged American citizens to "shelter in place", citing reports of the military movements. Trains in parts of the country stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Anger over arrests in Myanmar at anti-coup protests

WORLD

OPPONENTS of Myanmar's military coup sustained mass protests for an eighth straight day yesterday as continuing arrests of junta critics added to anger over the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands marched in the business hub, Yangon, while protesters took to the streets of the capital Naypyitaw, the second city Mandalay and other towns a day after the biggest protests so far in the Southeast Asian country. "Stop kidnapping at night," was among the signs held up by protesters in Yangon in response to arrest raids in recent days. The United Nations human rights office said on…