ICC Note: The government of Myanmar is defending legislation that in essence squanders the rights of women along with Muslims, which are the minority. This legislation deliberately discriminates against Muslims and violates a right that is valued so highly–the freedom of religion. In fact, many of those who outspokenly disagree with these laws are receiving death threats from extremists. As of now, the government allegedly has no plans of repealing this brutally unfair legislation.
5/6/2016, Myanmar, (Myanmar Times): The government is to defend a package of four controversial “protection of race and religion” laws at a key UN meeting on discrimination against women in Myanmar being held in Geneva tomorrow.
The legislation – which includes measures giving authorities the right to restrict how often women are allowed to give birth – has drawn local and international condemnation for oppressing women’s rights and deliberately discriminating against Myanmar’s Muslim population.
It was introduced last year under the military-backed government of then-president U Thein Sein following pressure from hardline nationalist monks, despite widespread objections from women’s rights groups, some members of which reported receiving death threats from extremists for their opposition to the laws.
A panel of global experts in Geneva will tomorrow question a delegation of government representatives on whether the laws breach the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), to which Myanmar became party in 1997.
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