ABSTRACT
Organizations such as the Burmese Women’s Union, Karenni National Women’s Organization, Shan Women’s Action Network and Women’s Rights and Welfare Association started in refugee camps and exile communities. A new understanding of rape as a weapon of war brought violence against women to the UN Security Council (UNSC), preparing the ground for the adoption of UNSC Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. UNSCR 1325 aims to prevent and ensure accountability for violence against women and girls during war, including sexual and gender-based violence, and to encourage women’s participation in governance related to peace and conflict. When UNSCR1325 was adopted, transnational civil society activists expected that it would be transformative and that it would contribute to a subversion of the politics of militarization and the patriarchal values that were dominant in the domain of international security. Myanmar’s women’s movement in exile made a conscious decision to draw on UNSCR 1325 and other global standards for women’s rights.
