Interviews with Wai Wai Nu

For me freedom… Everyone should be granted their fundamental rights, equally, with respect and dignity. What freedom means to me is: everyone’s basic rights are granted equally with full respect and with dignity regardless of differences.

The first thing is… I myself faced injustice in my life.

When I was 18 years old I was arrested and sentenced for 17 years and I had lost my education… and our future. I don´t want any other young people in Burma to face that kind of situation again.

Also, when we look at the changes in Myanmar [Burma], we don´t see… we are not sure if it is real change to democracy or not.

[In 2011, Burmese President Thein Sein began enacting a reform agenda that has eased government restrictions on civil liberties and opened more political space for opposition parties.]

And we see a lot of human rights violations and problems that need [to be] solved in Myanmar [Burma].

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.