KWO: Karen Women’s Organization

For over 50 years, the Karen people of Burma have been fighting for their freedom and rights. To escape persecution by the Burmese military regime, about 120,000 refugees have fled across the Thai border since 1980 where they live in seven refugee camps. International NGOs provide basic rations, healthcare and school materials. Problems in the camps include overcrowding, unemployment, domestic violence, malnutrition and fear of attack by the Burmese army or forced repatriation. In Karen state, an estimated 200,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have fled their villages to hide in the jungle in fear of death, rape, forced labor and forced resettlement by the Burmese army.

Who are we?

Founded in 1949, the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) was established in order to support and organize the contribution of Karen women to deliver services in community development and relief to women and their families in the refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border and to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) inside Burma. Currently, KWO has two main town-based offices in Mae Sariang (Central) and Mae Sot (South) that house KWO’s management level, along with a smaller office in Suan Phung, and KWO offices in each of the refugee camps. Each town-based office has an office coordinator, accountant, administrator and several additional staff members responsible for project coordination in the camps and IDP areas and direct contact with donors. Each staff member is a refugee or former IDP and current refugee herself and acts as a representative from her refugee camp women’s group. All KWO town-based office staff member positions are voluntary and full-time.

The KWO empowers women in refugee camps and IDP areas through training and informal education courses including democracy and human rights, reproductive health, adult literacy, conflict resolution and peace-building, counseling and legal issues. The KWO also runs the Karen Young Women’s Leadership School, libraries, and nursery schools in-camp. The KWO provides care for vulnerable members of the community through projects including boarding houses for unaccompanied children, distribution of baby hygiene kits to mothers of newborns and safe houses for the protection of victims of domestic violence and abuse. The KWO’s income generation projects include loom weaving, sewing and embroidery for the production of traditional Karen clothing and handicrafts, cooking training, stove making training and candle making training. The KWO engages in networking and strengthening the relationship between other women’s groups and NGOs through holding forums such as monthly Women’s Exchange meetings. The KWO produces publications including a quarterly magazine, newsletter and Annual Report. The KWO also documents human rights violations, with a specific focus on the abuse of women’s rights. In 2004, Shattering Silences, a report documenting 125 cases of rape of Karen women by members of the Burmese military, was launched at the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) in Geneva.

The KWO Income Generation Project first began in January 2003 with the aim of creating an opportunity for Karen women to generate sufficient income to support themselves and their families through the production of Karen garments and handicrafts, thus increasing their wellbeing, self-confidence, participation within their communities and the maintenance and respect of Karen culture. The project supports women and their families who otherwise would have no opportunity to work and earn money for themselves. Many of the women are illiterate and cannot find jobs within the camp. The much needed income provided by this project helps to buy food for their families and other daily necessities that are not provided by camp authorities. Many of the women support large families and weave when they have the time. Approximately 300 women are supported by this income generation project across four camps – Mae Ra Moo, Mae La Oon, Umphiem and Noe Poe. The products made by the women range from clothing items, such as sarongs, shirts and scarves; accessories such as bags and wallets; and home accessories such as blankets, table cloths, placemats and wall hangings. The products are then sold through the KWO Income Generation shop, through Borderline and through individual orders. By purchasing these goods you are contributing to the wellbeing of hundreds of refugees along the Thai-Burma border, and promoting, maintaining and generating respect for the Karen culture and tradition throughout the world.

KWO Objectives

• To assist women in the endeavor to be free from all forms of oppression.
• To promote and empower women in all spheres of life, including education and general living standards.
• To encourage women to participate in the struggle for freedom, democracy and equality.
• To develop women’s knowledge, ability and skills, including political and organizational skills.
• To achieve the rights of women and equal status with men.
• To maintain and promote Karen culture and tradition.

What do we do?

We divide our activities into five categories.

Education and Training

KWO empowers women through training and informal education to develop skills and increase women’s participation in the community and in community decision making. We organize Leadership, Literacy, Human Rights and Democracy, Parenting, Health and Capacity Development training in the camps, including a Karen Young Women’s Leadership School.

Community Care Giving and Relief

KWO has a long tradition of caring for the more vulnerable members of the community. We provide moral and material support to orphans and unaccompanied children through our boarding houses, to new mothers with the Baby Kit program, and to newly arrived refugees. We assist the wider community with mediation, counseling, Women’s Discussion Forums, Safe Houses for women at risk, and many other programs.

Income Generation

These projects aim to promote self sufficiency and improve living standards by providing opportunities for people in the camps and Karen State to earn an income. Our weaving project teaches women traditional loom weaving and cotton dying, and training in such things as sewing and candle or paper making give women useful new skills they can use to assist their families and earn an income with.

Networking

KWO has strong relationships with other women’s groups, CBOs and NGOs, to share information and experiences, advocate for Karen and women’s issues, and to coordinate activities. KWO is an active member of the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), the umbrella organization for different indigenous women’s groups on the border.

Documentation and Information

KWO interviews and documents the testimonies of new arrivals in the camps with a specific focus on the abuse of women’s rights. We produce publications including a quarterly magazine, newsletter and annual report.

KWO’s future plans include maintaining our current activities, extending our local and international networks and advocacy, starting a Women’s Political Forum to increase women’s participation in political processes, and expanding more of our programs into Karen State as the security situation allows.

For further information about the Karen people and KWO, please visit the following websites:
www.karenwomen.org
www.womenofburma.org