Nan Swe Nwe Win

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Starting Point 

Ms. Nan Swe Nwe Win was the secretary of the Shan Literary and Cultural Association. She was proposed and nominated by the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) for her trustworthiness and reliability. She received support from the local government, the ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and the civilians. These encouragement pushed her to be involved in the peace process. 

Her involvement in the peace process took many forms in conflict prevention and mediation. She was invited to a meeting to form a state-level association under the Union Level. She assisted in organising Cultural Exhibitions and Competitions on Ethnic Equality. In carrying her work, she looked up to former members of parliament, namely, Daw Nan War Nu and Daw Nan Kham Aye, as her role models.

Peace Journey

Throughout her involvement in the Joint Monitoring Committee, she witnessed that what is need to be done prior to peacebuilding is to build a culture of trust. The government and the ethnic groups as well as the government and the public need to build trust among them. For this, a need-assessment should be done first. Further, she states that the JMC peace process is for all ethnicities. In the JMC, there are provisions for protecting women and children. She worked in line with JMC’s merits and Training of Trainers guidelines. 

However, after 2020, these processes cannot continue due to political and economic conditions. She recalled the time when she went to the Philippines for an event organised by JMC on peacemaking, but she had to return after 3 days because of the conflict. There were no more problems that JMC could solve between the local government and the EAOs.

Success Stories

Due to a lack of trust among the sensitive conflicting parties, she had to handle it consciously. She was successful in the peace process to a certain extent. 

However, she stated that it is more challenging for her to deal with the parties due to her gender. Therefore, she urged for more efforts are taken to encourage women participation in peace process. 

In her stance, women empowerment is  key to peace process. This vital role should be recognised and supported. Regrettably, traditional discrimination against and disbelief in women’s potential still looming over the society, as in the general perspective, married women is expected to focus more on daily activities, including household chores and raising children. This hurdle should be overcome by all means. Women should be encouraged to share their valuable knowledge and experiences. 

In her view, if women were involved in peace processes, it will create more chances to achieve intended goals. To this end, more accommodation is warranted for women.