Statement issued by Tibetan Women's Association on the 52nd anniversary of the National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day
Dharamsala, March 12, 2011: 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.
In 1960s the women in Kalimpong and Darjeeling, India, advocated establishing an organization for women in exile. As women in Tibet were struggling to hold steady footing, the women in exile helped them on the free side of the border. Since the reinstatement of TWA on September 10, 1984 in exile, TWA has advocated the rights of the Tibetan women inside Tibet while seeking to empower women in exile. As an organization committed to working to bring about an amicable solution to the long standing injustice against Tibet, TWA has grown by leaps and bounds.
The situation inside Tibet has worsened during the last 52 years under the Chinese occupation. Persecution in Tibet continue and the sentencing of acclaimed environmentalist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup to 15 years of imprisonment on trumped-up charges is a point in case. TWA joined global forces in garnering international support calling for his release.
The Human Rights Watch report 'I Saw It with My Own Eyes', Abuses by Chinese Security Forces in Tibet, 2008-2010 makes a comprehensive examination of the extensive use of force and violence in dealing with the peaceful Tibetan protesters. More than 800 known Tibetan political prisoners who have exercised their right to free expression are languishing in the Chinese prisons inside Tibet. Gdedhun Choekyi Nyima the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet has been missing for the last 16 years, Trulku Tenzin Deleck Rinpoche, a revered Tibetan religious and community leader is commuted to lifetime imprisonment, Rongye Adak, a Tibetan nomad is sentenced to eight years in prison for merely calling upon the rightful return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetanfilmmaker is sentenced to 6 years in prison for making a film on the Tibetan people's longing to have His Holiness the Dalai Lama back in Tibet. We call on the Chinese government to implement the political and human rights reforms that the multitudes of Chinese and Tibetan advocates have risked their lives to promote.
Post 2008 national protests inside Tibet, the world is witnessing a cultural renaissance in Tibet where intellectuals, thinkers, artists are reasserting their Tibetan identity and patriotism in a creative way. Tibetan women like Tsering Woeser and Jamyang Kyi have written fiercely under oppression and their works have contributed largely to amplifying the suppressed voices in Tibet. Their indomitable courage is exemplary of female fortitude and it has encouraged women around the world. The TWA is honored to launch Jamyang Kyi’s book ‘Series of Torture, Dairy of Interrogation’ in all the three languages, Tibetan, English and Chinese. TWA pay paeans to these women whose resilience and fearless acts have taken the Tibetan struggle notches higher.
It is now widely accepted that the most pressing issue concerning the world is the climate crisis. Tibet is now referred to as the Earth's Third Pole. Under the 'Great Western Development strategy' (1999), the Chinese government are forcibly evicting the Tibetan nomads from their grasslands a way to respond to the degradation of pasture lands and to control disasters in the low lands of the country. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, noted in December 2010 that the Tibetan nomads should not be compelled to settle. “It is Chinese government policy to implement policies of settling Tibetan nomads, confiscating their land, and fencing pastoral areas, which is leading to increasing poverty, environmental degradation and social breakdown." The latest census tells us that 1.43 million nomads have been evicted from the pasture-land. The 'Women's Environment and Development Desk'(WEDD) of TWA has released a music video that tells the plight of a nomadic woman facing forced migration. WEDD has also launched a digital book on Tibet's waters. With more than a million nomads now left without a proper source of income, the WEDD is committed to initiating sustainable development projects that will benefit the women and children belonging to the nomadic community.
The disastrous earthquake that struck Kyegudo in eastern Tibet on April 14 last year, left more than 2,000 dead, 10,000 injured and hundreds of thousands homeless. The TWA and its regional chapters have raised one million rupees (Rs. 1,000,000) for the quake survivors. We continue to support the survivors particularly the women and children with nutritious food and clean water.
The widespread language protests in Tibet last year led by the Tibetan students clearly indicates the threatened stage of Tibetan language and we urge the Chinese government to bestow the Tibetan people with the basic right that one is entitled to learn in one's own language. Therefore education is a pivotal requisite and an imperative for the Tibetan struggle. To this end, TWA launched the 'Fellowship for Women for specialized studies' last year. This year the Fellowship program will support 7 female students: 2 for Bachelors program, 3 for Masters program and 2 for PhD program in any of the particular fields of study: (1) Women's Studies, (2) Human Rights, (3) Media and Communication, (4) Environmental Studies, (5) Film-making Studies, (6) Governmental Policy Studies and (7) Gynecology studies.
After the national uprising of 2008, it can be ascertained that the three provinces of Tibet remain resolutely united in calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and for freedom from the Chinese rule. Since 1996, TWA has remained committed to pursuing genuine autonomy for Tibet through the middle way approach adopted and practiced by the Tibetan Government in Exile. While there is a stalemate after 9 rounds of talks between the Tibetan envoys and the Chinese counterparts, the TWA beseech the Chinese government to seize this momentous opportunity of dialogue and agree to a mutually beneficial solution for both Tibet and China.
TWA's expansion and growth has remained effective and TWA now has 56 regional chapters spread across the globe. A Chapter in Bhutan, Pokhra Jampaling, Sydney and Canberra are new additions. TWA's members are 15,000. The members are committed to stand by TWA's slogan 'Advocacy for Home and Action in Exile.' Tibetan Women inside and outside of Tibet will not see any rest or respite until there is a genuine solution to the Tibet crisis. Tibetan women across the globe commemorate this day with a great hope that along with human rights, peace will be resorted in Tibet and in all areas where peace is subjugated and where the brutal state reigns supreme.
We pray for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and we pray that the light of freedom will grace the three provinces of Tibet. Under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, may all the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet stand resolutely united and with an altruistic commitment, be of utmost and impeccable service to the just cause of Tibet.