"I feel I was privileged when I compare myself to the other young girls and women that I interacted with while I was in prison... Most of them were unaware of how corrupt the political system was. I had a dream, a vision, whether or not I could achieve it because of my imprisonment was secondary. I felt I could help them have a dream... I started my activism when I was 25-years-old. Apart from the many challenges, I was faced with patriarchy from within my community initially as there were close no women in leadership roles. Now I see an acceptance from the same community, and I am proud to have been able to break this stereotype... I speak Burmese fluently, I grew up in the city, and I think, through my activism, I have been able to break the stereotypes created in part by the media and address the Islamophobia around my community, which is seen by so many as alien."
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Quoted in From Political Prisoner to Champion of Human Rights – The Wai Wai Nu Story, by Mariya Salim, Inter Press Service, (23 Nov 2020)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wai_Wai_Nu
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Wai Wai Nu
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