Karen Women’s Organization (KWO)
Thai-Burma Border
Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) is a community-based organization that was formed in 1949 as a Burmese women’s rights organization. Its mission is to empower women to actively participate in political and peacemaking efforts, to fight for women’s rights and gender equality, to develop women’s political and economic skills, and to preserve Karen culture. KWO works in the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, where many Karen people have fled to escape Burmese persecution.
Believing that women’s input is essential to rebuilding a peaceful Burma, KWO has implemented education programs for women in literacy, sexual health, domestic violence, advocacy, self-confidence, and economic empowerment. KWO also provides women’s resource centers along the Thai-Burma border as meeting places and safe havens for Karen refugee women involved in community development and human rights monitoring. To help women generate income, KWO established the Borderline Women’s Collective and Gallery to sell traditional Karen handicrafts made by refugee women. Today, KWO has over 30,000 members. In June 2007, Zipporah Sein, the President of KWO, received the prestigious Perdita Huston Human Rights Award, which recognizes outstanding women’s rights work in developing countries.
The Karen People
The Karen people are one of the predominant ethnic groups of Burma. Traditionally, the Karen are farmers, and are know for their colorful clothing, festival dances, and the numerous gold rings that women use to adorn their necks. The Karen people have been fighting for autonomy from Burma since 1949, and as a result, have been historically oppressed by the State’s regime. The Burmese government has closed Karen schools, burned houses, forcibly evacuated villages, and killed innocent civilians. Many Karen people have fled to Thailand for respite, yet face continued hardship in the refugee camps. Today there are roughly 100,000 Karen refugees in camps on the Thai-Burma border, and hundreds of thousands more are internally displaced within Burma.
Karen Textiles
Pattern and color infuse traditional Karen textiles with meaning. For example, red signifies bravery; blue signifies faithfulness; and white signifies purity. Complex linear patterns and shapes represent symbols or concepts, such as the textured skin of the serpent, a likeness of which is woven into the cloth to protect the wearer. This rich cultural heritage is being preserved in the sewing cooperatives of KWO, where the women sewing can connect both with their artistic heritage and with each other.
