TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Jolie, Suu Kyi visit Myanmar female factory workers

National League for Democracy chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi (C) and US actress and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie (centre R) meet with women factory workers at a hostel in Hlaing Thar Yar Township in Yangon on August 1, 2015

The Jakarta Post
Yangon, Myanmar
Sat, August 1, 2015

Share This Article

Change Size

Jolie, Suu Kyi visit Myanmar female factory workers Aung San Suu Kyi: National League for Democracy chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi (C) and US actress and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie (centre R) meet with women factory workers at a hostel in Hlaing Thar Yar Township in Yangon on August 1, 2015. (AFP/Ye Aung Thu) (C) and US actress and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie (centre R) meet with women factory workers at a hostel in Hlaing Thar Yar Township in Yangon on August 1, 2015. (AFP/Ye Aung Thu)

N

span class="inline inline-center">National League for Democracy chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi (C) and US actress and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie (centre R) meet with women factory workers at a hostel in Hlaing Thar Yar Township in Yangon on August 1, 2015. (AFP/Ye Aung Thu)

Angelina Jolie has joined Myanmar's opposition leader and democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, in sitting down with female workers to learn more about their dire conditions.

Jolie, who is a special envoy for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, is on a four-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

During her meeting with the factory workers on the outskirts of an industrial zone in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, Jolie and Suu Kyi witnessed first-hand the conditions the women live in, mostly low-cost hostels. Jolie also toured inside the factory.

She traveled to Kachin state earlier this week, home to more than 10,000 displaced people since a cease-fire between Myanmar's government and ethnic rebels has broken down in 2011.

According to her trip details, it is unlikely that Jolie will be able to travel to western Rakhine State, where more than 100,000 Muslim minority Rohingya live in apartheid-like conditons in camps.

It is Jolie's first visit to Myanmar, which only recently emerged from decades of military rule. More than a dozen ethnic minority groups, mostly in Myanmar's border areas, have been fighting for greater autonomy since the country attained independence from Britain 67 years ago.

Recently, the world attention has turned to the plight of stateless Rohingya Muslims who have been trafficked from Myanmar and Bangladesh aboard overcrowded boats. Dozens of graves as well as pens likely used as cages for Rohingya have been found in abandoned jungle camps on both sides of the Thailand-Malaysian border.(++++)

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.