International Women's Day: Cartoon competition raises awareness on women's rights in Myanmar
A cartoon competition was organized in Myanmar to mark International Women's Day. The competition entries reflect problems faced by many women and girls in Myanmar. Advancing women's human rights and gender equality is one focus area of Finland's support to Myanmar.
The competition was organized by UNFPA, the Department of Social Welfare and the Association François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) as part of efforts to raise awareness of women's human rights. This activity is part of the UNFPA "Women and Girls First"-program, which Finland is supporting EUR 3,65 million in 2016-2018.
The themes of the cartoon competition comprised violence against women, women and health, and women in emergencies. These three themes are central to the UNFPA program supported by Finland, Sweden and other development partners. The program aims to address women's empowerment through ensuring women's and girls' access to sexual and reproductive health- and gender based violence prevention and response services.
Women and girls face multiple forms of discrimination
Gendered norms and disadvantages run deep in Myanmar society. Women and girls are assigned less social and economic status than men and boys. This impacts their ability to access opportunities, exercise control over resources and decision-making in the public and private realms.
In addition, this elevates their risk of exposure to violence and exploitation, including human trafficking. These are all compounded by armed conflicts, continuous since Myanmar's independence in 1948.
It is everyone's responsibility to advance gender equality
Altogether 241 cartoons were submitted to the Jury from across Myanmar. A total of 60 cartoons were exhibited at the reward ceremony in Yangon on the 7th of March. The cartoons are planned to be used in future awareness-raising initiatives by UNFPA and partners. Ms. Janet Jackson, UNFPA country representative, stated in the prize seremony:
"Gender based violence and atrocities are mostly hidden. They are not talked about. They are rarely brought to justice. The reality is that they affect mostly women and girls. Cartoons provide a way to discuss awkward, difficult issues. They challenge embedded attitudes and social and cultural norms."
Tun Tun Win, the winning cartoonist from Yangon, decided to participate in the competition when he read the competition advertisement in the newspaper. Violence against women is an issue everyone everywhere needs to respond to, he emphasized:
"There is a lot of violence against women in Myanmar. However, it is not so that women only in Myanmar suffer. This is the same problem that all women everywhere face. It is everyone's responsibility to address these issues."
Phyi Wai Soe, a 12 year old from Mon state, travelled to the event with his mother. His cartoon was one of the winners of the children's series. His drawing highlighted the shared importance of women's health.
"It shows a father taking care of the mother's health", he described. His mother told, that she has taught his son the importance of health for us all.
The event included a performance from the "Human Drama"-group. It is a group that aims to raise awareness and change behavior on health and social issues through drama. Their performance, delivered through song and drama, was about domestic violence and the need for women's empowerment.
Advancing the rights of women and girls, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups, is one of the four focus areas of Finland's new Development Policy published in February 2016.
Silja Rajander
The author is a Senior Specialist in the Diplomatic Mission of Finland in Yangon.