10 March 2021
The Karenni National Women’s Organisation (KNWO) was founded in the Karenni refugee camp along the Thai-Myanmar border on 10 March 1993 with a vision for women and girls in the refugee camps and in Karenni State to enjoy freedom of choice, equal political, economic, and social rights and to be free from any form of violence.
Along our 28-year journey, we have been working with women, girls and children on protection, empowerment, peace and security issues as well as access to justice and resettlement for survivors of gender-based violence. We have also documented human right violations by the Burmese military. We have recorded many cases of impunity, where victims and survivors remain unable to access pathways to justice.
Furthermore, the military coup on 1 February 2021 resulted in women and girls in rural and urban areas of Karenni State feeling physically and mentally unsafe. The State Administration Council has brutally cracked down on the peaceful protestors and committed crimes including torture, sexual harassment and assault, and gender- based violence.
KNWO condemns the unlawful situation taking place in Karenni State and throughout Burma as peaceful protestors including women and youth are targeted.On this day of our 28th anniversary, we declare that we will fight to end the military dictatorship until the end.
We stand with the people in Myanmar and echo the following demands:
Media Contact:
Maw Noh Myar +66 9868 916 94
Mu Ree +66 9322 600 15
Karenni National Women's Organization (KNWO) is a non-profit community-based organization. KNWO was founded in 1993 by Karenni women who fled to Thailand seeking asylum from Myanmar's brutal military regime.