Kyu Kyu Hla (sitting, front row) at the event to mark Myanmar Women’s Day on July 3, 2023.
Women from all walks of life have been arbitrarily jailed or killed by the Myanmar military regime since it seized power in a coup, but junta boss Min Aung Hlaing had a different story to tell on Myanmar Women’s Day on Monday when he addressed a high-profile event in Naypyitaw presided over by his wife Kyu Kyu Hla.
Women are the “architects that sculpt human resources for the future of the country,” he said in a video address to the event.
Kyu Kyu Hla is the honorary patron of the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation. She was joined at the lavish event by other honorary patrons, including Khin Thet Htay, the wife of acting president Myint Swe, Than Than Nwe, the wife of deputy junta chief Soe Win, Nilar, the wife of military intelligence chief Ye Win Oo, and the wives of junta-appointed ministers and members of the regime’s administrative body, the State Administration Council.
Kyu Kyu Hla, Than Than Nwe and Nilar have all been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
As of June 30, 4,720 women have been detained and jailed on trumped-up charges since the February 2021 coup, and 3,646 of them remain in prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). They include ousted civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who is being held in solitary confinement in Naypyitaw.
A total of 555 women were killed by the regime, the AAPP said. The first was 20-year-old Ma Mya Thwet Thwet Khine. She was shot in the head during an anti-coup protest in Naypyitaw.
The Burmese Women’s Union reported on June 28 that 111 women were killed in 11 regions and states in April, May and June of this year by the regime. The civilian National Unity Government has said junta personnel have sexually assaulted 122 women.
On June 19, nearly 100 women—including a famous actress—were arrested by the regime for participating in the flower strike to mark the 78th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kyu Kyu Hla has not spoken out against the crimes against women committed by the military her husband leads. She is better known for her affection for luxury clothing and designer handbags that each cost at least 10 times more than the annual income of low-income families in Myanmar.
Along with other wives of military officials, the 67-year-old former Burmese literature lecturer at Yangon University offered meals to Buddhist monks at Monday’s event and recited religious verses in the hope that these rituals would ensure safety for their husbands. Kyu Kyu Hla has also been writing pro-military articles and poems for anniversary editions of military magazines. One of her poems marking the 75th anniversary of the Air Force was published in a junta propaganda newspaper.
In March, Min Aung Hlaing conferred an honorary title on his wife for “making significant contributions to Buddhism.” Other recipients included former military dictator Than Shwe’s wife Kyaing Kyaing, then deputy junta chief Maung Aye’s wife Mya Mya San, former president and ex-general Thein Sein’s wife Khin Khin Win, Myint Swe’s wife Khin Thet Htay, and former vice-president Sai Mauk Kham’s wife Nan Shwe Hmone. But Min Aung Hlaing did not confer the title on Dr. Khin Win Shwe, the wife of former military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, who designated Myanmar Women’s Day and founded the Myanmar Women Affairs Federation.
Since its founding, the federation has been chaired by the wives of generals and it works to support Myanmar’s military. Kyu Kyu Hla is no exception. Instead of empowering women, or helping those detained or jailed, or raped by junta troops, Kyu Kyu Hla has been busy helping her husband maintain his grip on power, and trying to amass more wealth for her family.