"As revolutionary women, we will not tolerate these acts."
Ma Su Thit, a former military wife who left the Tatmadaw along with her husband, has since founded an organization intent on supporting military families who join the peoples’ side. The two now live in an undisclosed location where they struggle to even have enough food and drinking water, however their daily efforts continue to be focused intensively on trying to bring more former colleagues to their side.
Their work is at the forefront of the non-violent movement, now hanging by a thread, that seeks to minimize violence by not attacking soldiers, but simply encouraging them to lay down their weapons and disobey their commanding officers. Yet they cannot complete this work without your support. Please consider a donation earmarked for their group so that their reach can spread and their ability can increase!
We have translated the following statement that she wishes to speak out to an international audience.
“As 2021 Spring Revolution intensified, a growing group of ethical soldiers have broken away from their oppressors. This movement is now momentum.
Military terror attacks the psychological dignity of the wives of soldiers and servicewomen who stand up for the people by spreading and distorting false information.
We call on people not to accept false information and distortions, but rather to support the revolutionary sisters who are facing such incidents!
Wives of people’s soldiers and servicewomen increasingly experience these attacks after they defect. During their time in the army, they have been subjected to various forms of discrimination, the idea of patriarchy, and actions taken against them. The idea of patriarchy and the measures are found not only in the men but also in the wives of more senior soldiers. They spread like cancer cells.
We, the wives of people's soldiers, have learned more and more that those who protect the rights of civilian women, activists, and demonstrators have been systematically targeted by the junta for many years.
As revolutionary women, we will not tolerate these acts in any way. We call on them to stop the sexual, emotional, and physical attacks on our revolutionary sisters. The more we experience these attacks just because we are women at heart, the stronger decisions we make as the wives of people’s soldiers who have broken with the military junta.”