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What is the Tibetan Women's Uprising Day?

Press Releases

2011

  • TWA delegation meets visiting Chinese Governor of Sichuan and appealed for an end to the crackdown in Amdo Ngaba Tibetan Women's Association's president Dolkar Lhamo Kirti and Vice President Samten Choedon met with Jiang Jufeng, the Governor of Sichuan Province at the Maurya Sheriton Hotel in New Delhi. At around 12 noon on Tuesday, April 26, the two met the Governor and briefed him about the heightened repression on the Tibetans inside Tibet and the deepening crackdown in Kirti Monastery in Amdo Ngaba (Northeastern Tibet) and the ensuing arrests of hundreds of Kirti monks. Phayul.com reported that 'this is perhaps the first time that a visiting Chinese communist leader has ever come face to face with members of a Tibetan exile community on Indian soil, apart from the angry protests and anti China slogans faced by motorcade of Chinese leaders on visit.'
  • Global Petitioning and Lobbying Week' to garner International Arbitration over the Deepening Crackdown in Kirti Monastery The executive members of Central Tibetan Women's Association and its 57 regional chapters spread accross the globe will meet with Parliamentarians, Government Representatives and Human Rights groups to lobby and garner International Arbitration over the deepening crackdown in Kirti Monastery in Amdo Ngaba in northeastern Tibet. While TWA demands global vigilance and arbitration over the intensified Chinese repression in Amdo Ngaba, TWA earnestly appeal them to: 1) Take legal measures to immediately stop the crackdown on monks of Krit Monastery. 2) Request your Government to intervene and stop the brutal clamdown on the Tibetan people in Amdo Ngaba. 3) Pressure the Chinese Governemnt to allow freedom of press inside Tibet and allow the presence of foreign media in the Ngaba region. 4) Seek effective reparation for denial of right to life, right to religious freedom of the Tibetan people and 5) Staunchly reproach the autocractic Chinese rule in Tibet and to disallow such oppression and travesty of justice to continue in Tibet.
  • TWA COMMEMORATED THE 52ND ANNIVERSARY OF TIBETAN WOMEN'S UPRISING DAY: An exclusive literary event 'Honoring the Literary Spirit of Tibetan Women inside Tibet' paid tribute to the spirit and courage of Tibetan women inside Tibet On the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day, the Tibetan Women's Association dedicated this day to honor the indomitable literary spirit of the Tibetan Women inside Tibet. TWA organized an exclusive literary event, "Honoring the Literary Spirit of Tibetan Women inside Tibet". The event held at the Deputy Speaker Hall of Constitution Club of India, featured a book launch and a panel discussion. Following the launch a panel discussion on the topic "Literary Spirit of Women under Oppression" was held. Chaired by Swati Chopra , New Delhi based writer and poet and author of 'Dharamsala Diaries' and 'Women Awakened: Stories of Contemporary Spirituality in India', the key speakers for the panel discussion  included: Gyari Dolma, Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, Jaya Jaitly, Former president of Samta Party and Social Activist, Nafisa Ali, Social Activist and Actor and Nilanjana S. Roy, Journalist and Literary Critic.
  • Statement issued by Tibetan Women's Association on the 52nd anniversary of the National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day Today on the occasion the 52nd anniversary of the National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day, the Tibetan Women's Association, on behalf of all the Tibetan people inside and outside Tibet pay homage to the Tibetan martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet. 52 years ago, on this very day, the Tibetan women from all the three provinces of Tibet, for the first time in history stood united and challenged the brutal Chinese clampdown and engaged in peaceful resistance against the oppression. The Tibetan women have had a steadfast presence in leading the non-violent struggle against the repressive Chinese regime and the devotion and undeterred spirit of these women have inspired 52 years of non-violent resistance and the struggle has now matured into a self-sustaining and intellectually stimulating struggle against injustices and a non violent fight against a tyrannical rule.
  • TWA organizes 'Question Hour' featuring the three candidates for Kalon Tripa The three candidates for the post of Kalon Tripa: Kasur Tashi Wangdi, Kasur Tenzin Namgyal Tethong and Dr. Lobsang Sangay participated in the 'Question Hour: Exile Tibetans Decide' organized by the Tibetan Women's Association and held at a unique location at Dolmaling nunnery. Conceptualized by the Tibetan Women's Association and supported by phayul.com as its media partner, the event did not follow the usual 'run of the mill' debate format. The state-of-the-art event posed 16 questions to the three forerunners for Kalon Tripa's post. The questions touched myriad issues facing Tibet and the Tibetan people and the deliberations dwelled on the past reflection, present contemplation and future commitments of the three candidates who will contest the March 20 election.
  • TWA releases a book on Tibet's water and a music video on Tibetan nomads The Women's Environment and Development Desk (WEDD) of Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) is releasing a digital version of a book on Tibet's water and a music video on Tibetan nomads. The book contains information about Tibet's water and related environmental issues linked to climate change and Tibet. It also provides insight on China's dam-building projects across the Tibetan Plateau. The short music video titled 'Achi Drokmo'-(in English- a nomadic woman -4 minutes and 38 seconds) features a nomadic woman singing in solitude and grieving over her lost home and herds.
  • 2010

  • TWA's WEDD emits the new mantra; De-Carbon Your Life; De-Carbon Dharamsala The Women's Environment and Development Desk (WEDD) of the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) spearheaded a local initiative to combat the carbon crisis threatening planet earth and its inhabitants. At a 'Mass Cycle Rally', 35 cyclists comprised of a heterogeneous group of men, women and children of different nationalities donned Climate T-shirts and badges carrying the message 'It is time for Climate Justice'. They peddled through the streets and terrain of Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala.
  • Sealing its Success; 50 glorious years of Democracy in Exile;India's former Election Commissioner Seals the Success of Tibetan Democracy in Exile At a momentous event organized by the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) held this evening in Dharamsala, the exile Tibetans along with the Indian and Western supporters celebrated the success of Tibetan Democracy. From a fledgling democracy in September, 1960 to now a successful and thriving democracy, the Tibetan democracy marked 50 glorious years in exile in September this year.
  • Global conservation activists calls for the release of three environmentalist brothers in Tibet. TWA gets Vandana Shiva and Belinda Wright to sign the appeal letter A global coalition of environmentalists from Asia, Europe and the US have called for the release of three brothers imprisoned in Tibet who were known for their vital conservation efforts. The statement, signed by organizations including the Environmental Investigation Agency based in the UK and activists including Dr. Vandana Shiva and Gordon Roddick, reports that the sentencing of the three Tibetan brothers on trumped-up charges not only has terrible consequences for individuals involved, but also significant implications for emerging civil society in China.
  • Rare Footage Runggye Adak, a Tibetan Nomad's Protest inside Tibet on 3rd Anniversary of his Arrest Footage of Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad now serving an eight-year prison sentence for peacefully denouncing Chinese policies in Tibet and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, was released today as Tibetans and their supporters intensify the global campaign for his release [1]. The footage obtained by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and translated by the International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) shows an excerpt of Runggye Adak's speech onstage at the popular Lithang Horse Racing Festival on 1 August 2007 in Lithang, Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in eastern Tibet (Ch: Sichuan) [2]. He was arrested by Chinese police minutes after taking the stage.
  • Tibetan Environmentalist brothers sentenced to 15 years in prison; International environmental organization/ environmentalist to call for their immediate release'. TWA gets Vandana Shiva and Belinda Wright to sign the appeal letter Karma Samdrup (aged 42), is a prominent Tibetan, a philanthropist and an environmentalist. Karma, along with his brothers Rinchen Samdrup (aged 44) and Chime Namgyal (aged 38) founded the 'Snowlands Three Rivers Environmental Protection Group' that received numerous awards including the 'Earth Prize' from the Friends of Earth, Hongkong, Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Protection Grants, Model Project Grant from the One Foundation founded by Chinese film star Jet Li. All the three brothers are now jailed in the Chinese prisons in Tibet.
  • Tibetan Women's Advanced Leadership Training; Advancing high level women leadership and promoting women representation in the Tibetan community Statistics say the Central Tibetan Administration is comprised of a 46% female and 54% male workforce, but this does not demonstrate the true situation. There is a shocking discrepancy of a low 3% of women at top level positions, in stark contrast to the 97% of males at high level positions. The same picture also fits in many other frames of Tibetan exile Diaspora. The Tibetan Women's Advanced Leadership Training (June 7 to June 17), an undertaking of the TWA, seeks to not only address this issue, but to tackle it by enabling women's representation in the higher realms of representation and ranks of governance. Additionally, this training sought to accentuate the implementation of the Kashag's eight point policy on women's empowerment launched in October 2008.
  • Remembering Gyalyum Chemo, the Great Mother on International Mother's Day May 09, 2010; Sunday; It is a mother who strives, seeks and never yields. The origin of Mother's day traces back to 1870's when Social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War intended to observe the day as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Therefore Mother's day signifies a day of peace. In 1950s Tibet, the old adage that 'the mother is the precious jewel at home, the father the external fencing' still held true. But in the decades that followed, Tibetan women found a collective voice which saw them increase their influence outside the domestic arena. The rise and rise of Tibetan women is palpable, as well as their establishment as a social and political power to be reckoned with.
  • Tibetan Women's Association educates nuns to be the leaders of their community; Training programme succeeds in helping nuns to fulfill their potential April 30, 2010; The Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) led the second Tibetan Nuns' Leadership Programme in a bid to carry out the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has called for nuns to gain confidence - and believe in their ability to make a difference. Held in the south Indian nunnery of Jangchub Choeling, Mungod, Karnataka (south India), the five-day training course, from April 26 to April 30, 2010, was organized by TWA in conjunction with Science Meets Dharma, Switzerland (an institute which aims to provide monks and nuns in Tibetan monasteries in India with access to scientific education).
  • 2009