“Women and the Kachin Conflict.” Guest Speaker: S. Hkawng Naw, Executive Master of Public Administration Graduate Student, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.  Women and children are suffering the most in the armed conflict in the northern part of Myanmar. Beginning in 2011, the armed conflict emerged between the Burmese government army and the Kachin Independent Army (KIA), which ended a seventeen-year ceasefire. Due to the conflict, there are more than a hundred thousand people displaced, the majority of whom are women and children. In the conflict, many Kachin women experience sexual violence, including rape-murder by the Burmese army, and they are forgotten victims. Moreover, lack of refugee protection and shortages of humanitarian aid have become significant new push factors driving human trafficking to China. It has been difficult for Kachin activists and civil society groups to lobby and advocate through the UN and the international community to find justice for these victims. 

Conversations in Conflict Studies is a weekly educational speaker series for students, faculty, and the community. The series, sponsored by PARCC, draws its speakers from Syracuse University faculty, national and international scholars and activists, and PhD students. Pizza is served. Follow us on Twitter @PARCCatMaxwell, tweet #ConvoInConflict.

If you require accommodations, please contact Deborah Toole by email at datoole@syr.edu or by phone at 315.443.2367.