On International Women’s Day, KHT acknowledges the role of Karen women in their communities. The Karen women we meet show incredible kindness, gentleness, commitment to their families and work ethic.
Women and girls face the ‘double burden’ of patriarchy within their communities. Whilst they also must cope with poverty, climate change and the marginalisation that Karen men face, they are also subject to gender based violence, discrimination and obstacles.
Living in remote villages often means that women’s health issues and reproductive needs may not be met. Karen women also work as subsistence farmers, and face the additional burden of looking after families and children. Food insecurity is more prevalent amongst female-headed households in general globally, however there is little data to provide a true picture of this for Karen households. KHT’s monitoring surveys highlight that women respondents had on average a smaller annual income, which can be attributed to men being more likely to take on other roles outside of the village such as labouring or more likely to also include animal breeding.
Karen women are now in more leadership roles than before, however they are still very underrepresented at village, regional and national level decision making. Education is seen a route out of poverty, and many Karen women have broken older social norms to get educated rather than marrying young. KHT’s Scholarship Programme has also had at least 50% of female scholars and 60% of the children using our school buses are girls.
Karen women are the keepers of Karen culture. They pass down the skills of weaving traditional Karen clothes as well as how to make Karen adornments. These are a vital part of the Karen identity and a source of pride and belonging for all Karen people.
From our staff, to the village volunteers who help to build the WASH and irrigation systems and also female bus drivers and teachers that support our work, Karen women play a vital role in the success of our work too.
The contributions of Karen women help the well-being of families, their labour sustains the household and community and their struggles and success will shape Karen society for generations to come.