Close to the Burmese border in Mae Ra Ma Luang camp,Thailand, the Karen Young Women Leadership School has been set up to teach young women from the Karen community a unique mix of political and practical skills.
Funded by donations from Australia, the school which runs from 5am to 9pm teaches everything from cooking to reading and international law. Once a week they have a film night, which has included British films such as Billy Elliott and Bend it like Beckham to spark class discussions on gender roles and politics.
The Karen, an ethnic minority, have suffered dreadful repression under Burma's unelected 'State Peace and Development Council'. However, it looks like things are set to change as The Age reports that 'some of the school's graduates have since returned to Burma, working in health and education services, or supporting families forced to flee their homes, such as with baby kits for new mothers.'
Lont-gime camp leader Milton, who has supported the school since it opened nearly a decade ago, said: ''In the past, we didn't have a chance to study women's rights and human rights. So the men thought the women have to stay at home, and only the men were making all the decisions.We didn't intentionally want the women to suffer - but our decisions affect them and sometimes make more work for the women. Now that we have women in decision-making roles, it's changed, because they can be the voice of the women. So when we make a decision now, it's good we don't exclude the view of the women.'
