Myanmar National Committee for Women’s Affairs

ADDRESS:

64, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road
Yangon
Myanmar
Tel: (951) 665697
Fax: (951) 650002

STATUS:

Governmental

HEAD OF ORGANIZATION:

Chairman

YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT:

The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing in 1995. Though Myanmar was unable to attend the previous world conferences on women, Myanmar participated in a series of preparatory meetings, held prior to the Beijing Conference.

The outcome of the Beijing Conference was the Beijing Declaration which is a thirty-eight point statement highlighting the commitments made and the platform for action which describes twelve critical areas of concern to women and the world and strategic objectives and actions to be taken for each of the areas.

The Myanmar government is committed to adopt the Beijing Platform for Action and to implement the conferences' programmes in accord with the national political, economic and social objectives.

The Myanmar Government is pro-active in its efforts to formulate strategies for advancement of women. The Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs was formed on 3 July 1996. It was headed by the Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. The Government also designated the same Ministry as the focal point for women's affairs. Subsequently, the Myanmar National Working Committee for Women's Affairs was also formed on 7 October, 1996. Both committees comprise high level personnel from government ministries and NG0s, responsible for women's advancement as well as influential and dedicated women leaders.

The Working Committee identified six critical areas namely, education, health, economy, culture, violence against women and the girl child and formed respective subcommittees to implement their activities in the above mentioned areas.

LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY:

The State Law and Order Restoration Council

No. 15/96

Policy guidelines for the Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs -

* To effectively promote the health, education and socioeconomic status of the entire mass of Myanmar Women down to the grass-roots level.
* To educate and organize the Myanmar Women to uphold the tradition, culture and to safeguard one's own lineage and religion with a view to combat the infiltration and influence of foreign culture which could lead to social problems.
* To strive in unison for the emergence of a peaceful, modem and developed nation by all the women force from government departments, non-governmental organizations, social organizations. and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association. at various levels, engaged in Women's Affairs.
* To implement the resolutions of the World Women's Conferences into action in accord with the State policy and political, economic and social objective.
* To make endeavours by the Women's sector in assisting the political, education and social objectives of the State by formulating relevant aims and objectives based on the momentum of success gained.

OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS:

Women and Education
* Ensure universal access to and completion of primary education.
* Reduce illiteracy among women.
* Improve women's access to vocational training. skill-based training programmes and promote life-long education of girl-child and women.

Women and Health

* Promote women's access to safe mother-hood and birth spacing facility, with the aim to reduce maternal mortality.
* Strengthen preventive and promotive measures to improve growth, health and fitness and reduce infant mortality.
* Address gender sensitive health issues and undertake research on women's and children's health and disseminate research findings.

Women and Economy
* Promote technology transfer and provide appropriate employments for the women to enhance income generation in the family.
* Provide women's easy access to credit and saving mechanisms.
* Facilitate women's access to market and trade.

Women and culture
* Uplift dynamism of patriotic spirit national prestige and integrity.
* Preserve the cultural heritage.
* Safeguard one's own tradition and culture.

Violence Against Women (VAW)
* Study the causes, types, seriousness and consequences of violence.
* Take integrated measures to prevent and reduce VAW.
* Reduce trafficking in women and children and assist the victim of violence for rehabilitation.

The Girl-Child
* Eliminate negative cultural attitude and practices regarding girl-child.
* Increase awareness of the their needs and potential.
* Prevent and protect the economic exploitation of the girl-children; including trafficking.
* Promote awareness of and participation of the girl-child in social, economic and political life.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES:

Women and Education
* to reduce female illiteracy rate.
* to increase enrollment and retention rate.
* to ensure access to quality education and training of all appropriate levels for adult women with little or no education.

Health
* to increase women=s access throughout the life cycle to appropriate, affordable services, particularly primary health care are being strengthened so that quality health services for women are obtained. The target is to reduce maternal mortality to less than 1.0 per thousand live births by the year 2001. Under one infant care and under five years of age.
* to address gender sensitive health issues and undertake research on women=s and children=s health and disseminate research findings.

Violence Against Women
Research has been carried out to explore the magnitude of the problem to identify the possible causes of violence and to determine the consequences of VAW.

* conduct counselling training workshops and establish counselling centres.
* to reduce trafficking in women and assist victims of violence due to prostitution and trafficking.
* to strengthen the existing vocational training centres for young girls and women.
* to combat trafficking in women and children by means of education and income generation.
* to implement credit and loan schemes in 50 townships, focussing on the poorest of the poor by the year 2000.

Women and economy
* to provide business services and training to promote women=s access to market, information and technology.
* to enhance at the national and local levels, women=s income generating potential by extending access to skills and resource for non-traditional income generating activities.

Women and Culture
* to uplift dynamism of patriotic spirit national prestige and integrity essay and poetry competitions as well as extempore talks and debates are being held annually at basic and higher education levels on important National Days. Myanmar traditional performing arts competitions such as music, dancing, composing and singing are organized by the State to preserve the cultural heritage and also fashion shows are held to revive and encourage the wearing of traditional Myanmar attire and publications on the cultures and customs of national races are being produced.

The Girl-Child
* Advocacy meeting relating to relative cultural attitudes and practices against are being conducted in fourteen States and Divisions.
* to promote the girl-child's awareness of the participation hi social, economic and political life.
* conduct an action research on target group in the rural areas of Yangon division to protect and safe guard the rights of girl-child.

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS:

Monographs:
* Women=s Health and Development (WHD): Country Profile, (in English), 1997.
* Myanmar National Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women, (in English), 1997.
* Guidelines for Future Plan of Action, (in Myanmar), 1998.
* The Myanmar National Committee for Women=s Affairs 5 Year Plan (1996-2000), (in Myanmar), 1996.
* Women=s Development Handbook, (in Myanmar), 1996.

STAFF:

Female Male Total
Managerial 3 1 4
Professional 16 - 16
Clerical 6 - 6

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs (MNCWA)
„
Myanmar National Working Committee for Women's Affairs (MNWCWA
„
States/Divisions Working Committees for Women's Affairs
„
Districts/Townships Working Committees for Women's Affairs