NGO ‘storytelling’ typically focuses on the more personal aspects of activism, often from a Western frame of international development. This approach is of course valuable in many ways. Engaging in activism is a very intense personal experience, one that often includes dedication, strength, resilience, pain and loss. Storytelling helps humanize people—activists—who oppressors do everything in their power to dehumanize. Telling their own ‘stories’ to an international readership helps activists build bridges to reinforce conscientious external support. And in my experience, many human rights defenders want to tell their stories. Yet the predominant storytelling practices only harness part of what activist writing and activist-writers are capable of. […]

“La non-violence est naïve. Les humains sont violents par nature.” “La violence est nécessaire pour affronter des adversaires violents. “La résistance non violente sape les moyens institutionnels de changement.” De telles opinions sont compréhensibles à la lumière de la socialisation de la société et de l’augmentation continue de la violence dans les médias d’information, d’éducation et de divertissement. Il peut être frustrant de devoir répondre régulièrement à de tels points de vue. Mais si l’autre personne est de bonne foi, répondre peut aussi être l’occasion d’approfondir la conversation, d’apprendre à connaître son point de vue et de partager le nôtre. […]

I’ve often pondered what motivates someone to risk their freedom, safety and even their life, for the sake of rights and justice. Why do they persist when the fight seems endless? What sustains them when fear and exhaustion threaten to take over? The “Voices of Resilience” blog series attempts to explore these questions through the personal activism journeys of five remarkable women human rights defenders from Southeast Asia. These women are not just activists; they are daughters, sisters, mothers and friends who have faced personal tragedy, persecution and forced exile, but refused to give up. […]

As the youngest daughter in my family, my parents had always been concerned about the risks of my involvement in activism. While protesting in my home country of Myanmar after the 2021 coup, I faced pressure from male protesters who suggested that, as a woman, I should prioritize my safety and stay away from frontline strikes. So, the phrase “Dare to Cross or Cross to Dare” resonated deeply with me when I was forced to flee Myanmar in late 2022 due to my nonviolent activism against the military regime. […]

This special REACT series guest-edited by Maneesh Pradhan features the writing of five women human rights defenders (WHRDs) participating in nonviolent struggles for rights, democracy and peace. Based in Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, contributors Evy, Nilda, Ei Mon, Yin Lae and Memee are all organizing in environments that are extremely hostile towards human rights activism. Their posts highlight how they are navigating unique challenges they face as women, both young and elderly. Beyond movement organizing, these women HRDs engage in writing, knowledge sharing and solidarity building, namely intergenerational solidarity. These “voices of resilience” are as instructive as they are inspiring for anyone organizing nonviolent actions especially in repressive contexts, as well as movement supporters and those who study civil resistance movements.

“I was eight when I overheard Dad persuading Mama to employ the daughter of an impoverished client as household help. She would work without pay, in exchange for her father’s lawyer fees. We didn’t need household help, but Mama agreed when Dad explained it would mean “one less mouth to feed” for his client’s family. She was hired, with salary. I later understood the disturbing gap between social classes when I pursued a progressive education. But my learning wasn’t confined to the classroom. Conversations with one of my elder brothers enriched my education, from which emerged a strong desire for equality, truth and justice in my country. […]”

I will forever remember that hot, early-summer morning in February 2021. I was at the market near my apartment in Yangon, waiting for Shan noodles for breakfast. The breeze whispered that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) had taken power over the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. I quietly finished my breakfast, shocked at the unexpected development, unaware of what it truly meant to live in a country undergoing a coup. When I got home from the market […]

“When I decided to become an activist, I didn’t stop writing. I initiated the Migrant Workers Writing Movement (Gerakan Buruh Migran Menulis) with Migrant CARE and discovered the incredible stories of women migrant workers and their families. Since then, I have gradually understood feminism and gender injustice, not from fancy theoretical concepts but from the experiences of the people I met. At that moment, I knew exactly my path in fighting for what was most relevant to me: women’s liberation. […]”

“I was born and raised in the northeastern region of Thailand, in a province known as Isan. I grew up in a society that identified itself as the “Red Shirts,” a grassroots movement striving for political and economic democracy. When I turned sixteen, I left Isan to attend high school in Bangkok. It was during this time that I was introduced to feminism and began reading about the struggles faced by women and LGBTQ+ communities in their fight for self-affirmation and the recognition of their traumas.” […]