The Health Status of Women in Burma

[khin_s_w@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

* The Health Status of Women In Burma *
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If this paper were not meant to be presented to the United Nations ,43
rd Session of " Commission on Status of Women " the heading should have
been changed to " The Health Status of People in Burma ". It is because,
the present health crisis concerns both men and women as well as
children in Burma.

Last year, in 1998, the United Nations has commemorated the 50th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Women's rights
as human rights, a realistic and viable form, have recently been
accepted by the international community as part of the human rights
lexicon. CEDAW ( Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women ) came into force in 1981, as the first
international human rights treaty to systematically and substantively
address the needs of women.

The SPDC's ratification of the CEDAW, which came into force for Burma on
Aug. 21, 1997, obligate the military regime to take steps to eliminate
the barriers to women's full equality. However, the repressive military
regimes are by their very nature, still inconsistent with women's
freedom. Women are frequently exploited sexually and economically, which
is clearly demonstrated by a growing sex industry in Burma, highly
restrictive access to contraception and unsafe methods of abortions.
These evidences show the lack of control of women over their
reproductive health under the dominance of the military.

In the present situation, the following health issues are among the
plethora of many other urgent issues which stood out as a result of
social and political neglect.

*    Burma, currently has one of the highest rates of infant and
maternal mortality in Asia

*    Increasing incidence of HIV/AIDs at an alarming rate

*    Increasing incidence of treatable or preventable illnesses linked
to poor socio-economic status ( such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, malaria
and malnutrition )

*    Lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation

Among the many causes that contributed the above problems, one major
cause is due to the mismanagement of the budget spending that allocate
disproportionate amount of the total revenues to the military and
defense sector while neglecting the essential health and education
sectors.

Along with other human rights violations, these are issues, which , in
the long term can only be solved by social and political reform.

With this article, I would like to pay tribute to 88 th annual
International Women's Day.
And a special tribute to my fellow women, still suffering from various
forms of abuses, inside Burma.



Khin Saw Win

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