“Why worry about feminism? Human rights should come first. Women’s rights will come later.” Such was the sentiment that Thet Wai, a feminist activist from Myanmar, often received in her days of activism.
3,000 kilometres away, a similar sentiment is put into practice: “Help the disaster survivors first, LGBTQIA+ rights can come later!” Ten years after the Haiyan disaster, the LGBTQIA+ community are still struggling to get proper housing since they are legally unable to fulfil the requirements of having a traditional cis heterosexual family.
Truth be told, feminism–i.e. the equality of all genders and sexualities–is an integral part of the fight for democracy. You can’t have democracy without women’s rights and SOGIESC equality.
In this discussion, Thet Wai will speak about the interplay between patriarchy and authoritarianism and the challenges she has faced as a feminist activist in Myanmar. Mavic Conde, a journalist often covering climate-related issues in Southeast Asia, will talk to us about how, in the face of climate disasters, it is women and LGBTQIA+ communities that suffer first and foremost.
What can we do about this situation? What is the path forward to continue the struggle? Come and discuss with us on the evening of Wednesday, April 12th, at 8 p.m. GMT+8!
Guest speakers:
Thet Wai is a Gender Rights Researcher at New Naratif. Before joining New Naratif, she spent more than 10 years working with marginalised communities in Myanmar, for movement building, political organising, and doing feminist research.
Mavic Conde is a Filipino environmental journalist. Her bylines can be found in Bulatlat, Mongabay, and Rappler. She received an Earth Journalism Writing Grant as well as several fellowships, including a year-long fellowship at Solutions Journalism Network, where she commissioned and co-edited climate-solution stories from Asia.
Main readings:
- 10-year Post-Haiyan: LGBTQ+ Survivors Still Fight for Their Legal Rights by Mavic Conde
- A Personal Reflection on Feminism from A New Feminist Narrative: Towards More Inclusive Southeast Asian Democracies by Thet Wai
Supplementary readings:
- Queer Ecology: Eight Works of Flash Fiction on the Intersectionality of SOGIESC and Ecological Justice
- Legal Rights for Haiyan’s LGBTQ Survivors a conversation with Arturo “Arthur” Golong & Mavic Conde, hosted by Bonnibel Rambatan and produced by Dania Joedo
/ba∙ca/ with New Naratif is a reading group series that invites members to come together to discuss selected stories published by New Naratif.
For this reading, there is a minimum donation of US$5, for which you’ll receive a month’s New Naratif membership. Existing members can attend this event for free! Join New Naratif as a member today.
