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Stella, a student at Wilfrid Laurier University, shared her journey as a refugee from Rwanda, highlighting the challenges faced in refugee camps, including poverty, illiteracy, and gender-based violence. She emphasized the importance of empowering girls through education and vocational training to break traditional barriers and improve community resilience. Stella advocates for collaboration with international NGOs, governments, and local organizations to support refugee women and girls, providing resources and advocacy. She underscored the need for mental health support, vocational skills, and leadership training to help refugees become self-sufficient and exercise their rights.

A Journey from Myanmar to Global Advocacy for Women and Democracy

By Isabella Aung

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One of my fondest childhood memories is going to various black markets around Yangon with my dad to find books on politics and international affairs. I didn’t think much of it back then, but as I grow older, I realize how dangerous this activity was and how my late father risked his safety to support my passion for politics and international relations. At the time, schools and universities banned anything remotely political from their curriculums, and there was extreme censorship of the media and publications. One could be persecuted simply for speaking out against the authoritarian regime or for possessing a photo of an opposition leader.

I was born in Yangon, Myanmar, under the military regime led by General Than Shwe. Growing up around relatives who had been political prisoners under General Ne Win’s dictatorship, I developed an early interest in human rights and the ideas of democracy and freedom. Every day after school, I spent hours reading about various world leaders, in awe of their advocacy and activism. Inspired by U Thant, the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, and how he guided global leaders through complex international crises, I decided at nine years old that I wanted to study International Relations in college. However, there was one major obstacle: no university in Myanmar offered this highly taboo subject.

Many people ridiculed my precocious interest in politics, especially since I was a young girl from mixed Mon, Karen, and Burmese backgrounds. Women in Myanmar were expected to cook and clean; they were relegated to support roles while men assumed leadership positions.