Interviews with Wai Wai Nu

Truly I was in prison just because of my father’s political movement, [his] involvement in Myanmar’s [Burma] democracy’s movement. And because of [him having] made alliances with the opposition.

Also one of the reasons why we were put in jail is because of our identity [as Rohingya]. So at that time we had no trial. So we felt we were put in jail with injustice. [The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority concentrated in Burma’s Rakhine State.]

Also, inside the prison, there was no proper treatment. In the prison, in the first few years we didn’t get enough water, we didn’t get enough food. We were not allowed to read books.

We didn’t get a good place to sleep. A very terrible situation. And also… even when we were not tortured physically, we had a lot of mental torture without having [committed] any crimes.

For me personally, I was a young student. At that time I was a second-year law student. As a young student and as a young woman I felt it was really terrible.

I was thinking [about] those authorities, the government… if the people from the government didn’t have children or a daughter like me. Why did I have to be put in jail without having committed any proper crime?

Also I think it’s like killing the future of the youth. Since that time I have decided to work for those other young people in Burma [so they do] not have to face unjust situations like I did.

Wai Wai Nu is a Burmese freedom activist. She’s a former political prisoner and the co-founder of Justice for Women. She is also the founder and director of the Women Peace Network Arakan.

As a teenager, Wai Wai Nu was arrested and imprisoned by the government because of her father’s political activism. During her seven-year incarceration, she reflected frequently on the injustices she experienced as a political prisoner and the general state of freedom in Burma.

Since her release from prison in 2012, Wai Wai Nu has dedicated herself to working for democracy, human rights, and women’s rights. She has worked on behalf of marginalized women and in support of equality and justice for all women in Burma. Through her two organizations, she leads women’s empowerment trainings, women’s rights trainings, basic legal education, and peace-building activities.

Wai Wai Nu recently earned her law degree and is focusing on justice issues for women. She was also a member of the George W. Bush Institute’s inaugural Liberty and Leadership Forum.