WHILE surfing on the Internet, I found the photograph of an impressive woman who was standing on a Yangon road in a light-blue shirt along with several other women. Her name is Ms Mie Mie who is currently spending a 65-year-long jail-term in Myanmar because she 'sinned' by campaigning against the Yangon junta and favoured democracy in her country. However, the spirit of the 35-year-old slim woman has not been broken while serving her time behind bars.

This reminds me of the renowned poet Habib Jalib who while referring to Benazir Bhutto once said “Kitna darte hain yeh wardiwale ek nehatti ladki se” (how afraid these uniformed men are of an unarmed girl). Ms Mie Mie is being kept in the Bassein Prison in the Irrawaddy delta which is far away from her hometown, Yangon. She is not allowed to meet any visitors, not even family members.

In the 1989 uprising, she was just a high school student. She had joined the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) and Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS). She was detained for five months in 1989 because of her political association. She was arrested and sentenced to seven years in 1996 for participating in protests but she was released in 2001.

In 2005, she became one of the 88 Generation Student leaders. She was among those women leaders who led the August protest march in which most of the 88 Generation Student leaders were arrested. She gave many interviews to the media about the brutality of the regime and her messages were strong and defiant.

She was arrested on Oct 13, 2008 from a hideout. However, several global organisations are continuously pressing on for her release. Information about her detention is available on the following websites http//www.aappb.org and http//www.burmacampaign.org.uk

May I, being a Sindhi writer, join my voice along with those of others through your esteemed newspaper for her and other innocent people's release from detention in Myanmar as they are striving hard for the restoration of democracy.

MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL,
Karachi