Interviews with Charm Tong

The Burmese military regime– most of the power and the wealth are with Burmese military leadership, but not with the local military officer. And this is known all over Burma.

And that´s why when, where they come into the village, they collect everything from the villager. They force, they confiscate it, the land, their money, and also the food. You know, they force people to build an army base. They take the chicken and the pigs of the people. They force people to build, you know, the fence to secure the base.

Everything is taken from the villagers and the community. And this is known all over Burma. This is the real situation among the army. But at the same time, they´re increasing the Burmese military regime.

Our organization, the Shan Women´s Action Network, have been documenting about their use of systematic rape where women are raped by the regime´s troops, you know, in front of their families. Mother and daughter was raped at the same time. You know, young girl of six was raped and burnt alive. You know, and also involved with torture and gang rape and rape in front of the, you know, like military base. And some women are kept, you know, and raped up to, repeatedly up to four months.

And while they have to do the forced labor in the daytime. And this is what we have been documenting. And at the same time, we also document when one case, there was– you know, like the daughter of one of the Burma army among, within the same battalion that was raped by a high-ranking officer of the regime. This was, this showed that no women, no one in Burma, their wife or their daughter will be safe including the Burmese military regime themselves.

So they should be thinking about this– the, all their other military, also, you know, they know, you know, like that their family is not secure either. So, we´ve been giving the message that no one, and even their families, their wife, their daughters, their sister, whoever is not safe under this military dictatorship leadership. So these are the messages from the, you know, various groups and opposition movement have been, you know, raising these concern. And also trying to convey this message to people in the Burma military.

Interviewed August 2010

Charm Tong co-founded the Shan Women’s Action Network, when she was only 17. The organization is dedicated to stopping the exploitation of and violence against women and children in 1999.

Three years later, recognizing that their lack of education leaves the Shan young people more vulnerable to being trafficked or lured into other forms of exploitation, Tong founded the School for Shan State Nationalities Youth. The school works to empower and build the capacity of students to become leaders in their communities. It is regarded as a model for human rights education and training of young people from Burma and elsewhere.

Tong has also been instrumental in launching a campaign to bring attention to the systematic use of rape of Shan women by the Burmese military. The campaign, based on a report called “License to Rape,” has received considerable international attention.

Tong has received several international awards, including the Marie Claire Women of the Year Award and the Reebok Human Rights Award. In October 2005, she met at the White House with President George W. Bush.