Chin: Sexual Violence Continues
Below is an article written by Randeep Ramesh published by Guardian Unlimited:
Rape is being used as a "weapon" to terrorise villagers in
More than 100,000 people – more than 15% of the population - have fled
Campaigners say that a push by the Burmese military rulers to crush a 20-year-old "Chin" insurgency combined with a recent state-policy to "Burmanise" the local population has seen soldiers run amok in the state.
"Women are the most vulnerable group and the soldiers rape them to terrorise the local populace. The state encourages this because it wants to abolish other ethnic identities and thinks forced mixing is one way of achieving this," said Cheery Zahau, author of the report
The Chins are an ethnically distinct people who are mostly Christian.
"The army used to have just two battalions in Chin state. Now they have eight and another five in surrounding areas. [The soldiers] perpetuate systematic sexual violence."
Ms Zahau says girls as young as 12 are being raped in their homes and then often conscripted to work as porters in the army. There has not been any prosecution of Burmese soldiers although in rare cases some perpetrators have paid small sums, amounting to a few pounds, to victims' families.
In a poor corner of western
"The soldiers came to my house asking for food. They raped me in front of my mother. Then they took me to work for them. I was raped again and ran away. I did not stop running until I reached
Once in
The 40-year-old now lives with her two teenage daughters in a single tiny room above an open drain in a dusty lane. Awarded refugee status by the UN, Sharon is allowed to work. She manages to survive on her monthly wage of 1,500 rupees and a refugee subsidy of 600 rupees – less than a pound a day.
"I cannot speak the language here and there is a lot of discrimination against us because we are not Indian. But it is better here than in
Having got refugee status,
Despite openly supporting the pro-democracy movement after the 1988 uprisings,