"I thought, ‘What’s going on? How can I be here without committing a crime?’ I couldn’t accept that reality for some time... I saw how corrupt Burma’s legal system was and how there was no independent judiciary... I had thought only criminals go to prison, but I met so many women there who never committed a crime. I thought, ‘When I get out, I’m going to fix it.’ I had no idea how, but I knew I had to try.... Our constitution is not democratically written, and the text allows the military the most powerful positions in government... Power should be in the public’s hands, not the military’s. Another problem is our number of discriminative laws that don’t protect the people. Our so-called democratic legislation in fact restricts freedom and rights. That’s why I started advocating for legal and constitutional reform... young people are still open to a different perspective, and that’s how we can change public opinion. Once we change public opinion, it’s easier to change the policies... I want to give hope and empower those who are disempowered. Sometimes the work feels overwhelming, but I always think I should be doing more."
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From political prisoner to international inspiration, By Andrew Cohen, UC Berkeley, (27 July 2017)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wai_Wai_Nu
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Wai Wai Nu
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