Phyo Phyo Aung

Phyo Phyo Aung was born on August 25th, 1988, in Rangoon during the “88” democracy movement. When she was nine months old, Aung’s father was sentenced to 15 years in prison. As a result, Aung was raised primarily by her mother, who advised Aung not to participate in politics. While in university, Aung began to wonder why there was so much poverty in Myanmar as well as why the education system was progressively worsening. It was here that Aung’s activism emerged.

In 2007, Aung joined the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), an organization founded at Rangoon University that advocates for academic freedoms, student rights, and democracy throughout the country. Later in the year, she participated in the Saffron Revolution and was sentenced to prison for the first time as a result.  After Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar in 2008, however, Aung and her father created “The Group That Buries the Dead” which collected those killed by the cyclone for burial as well as provided general relief. The group’s efforts led to her and her father’s arrests and conviction under the Unlawful Association Act, which forbids citizens from doing anything that “disrupts law and order… or the regularity of state machinery.” Aung was sentenced to four years in prison. After her release, Aung became the secretary of the ABFSU as well as a member of the Democratic Education Movement Leading Committee.

Aung never abandoned her fellow student protesters even when they were violently attacked by the police, even when it meant delaying her own honeymoon. When the military authorities warned student activists that it was against the law to protest the government, Aung stated: “If the government violently cracks down on such peaceful protests, they will be responsible for violating the rule of law.” Currently, Aung is living with her husband and only son in Rangoon. She and her husband are both working for a local non-governmental organization.