Political Empowerment Program (PEP)
“Now I feel more informed about human rights issues in Burma. I didn’t understand these topics before because we can’t get this information in Burma as the government won’t allow it, but now I can go back to my village to share my skills and knowledge with other people and organizations”, (Past PEP graduate).
Our Political Empowerment Program (PEP) is an intensive training course aimed at educating young women already involved in the pro-democracy movement inside Burma who must be willing to become political agents to promote political change in Burma. The program participants must have experience in political activism and are chosen from different ethnic groups inside Burma. In general, the ethnic minorities have been excluded from the democracy movement. As such, BWU wishes to develop the capacities of women from the ethnic minorities and empower these minorities to promote the democratic struggle alongside the Burman majority.
This course is unique in so far as it offers these women a chance to focus on the interplay between gender and politics throughout all levels of society, internationally as well as domestically, and provides a theoretical framework in which to analyse current political situations in Burma. The theories taught draw from the women’s own experiences and the current political situation, and strategies to overcome gender-barriers are offered.
36 women have been trained through our PEP program since it began in 2006.
