NAYPYIDAW // Tough, stocky and packing a withering left hook, Myanmar’s gold-medal-winning boxer Nwe Ni Oo cuts a surprising image in a conservative nation where women are expected to be demure rather than combative.
But the 19-year-old fighter won hearts with a teary podium celebration at the Southeast Asian Games in the capital Naypyidaw, after a bruising points victory over her Philippines rival in the 57-kilogramme class.
“It’s very exciting because I have never fought foreigners before … I’m happy to fight in front of Myanmar fans, too,” she said after Saturday’s victory.
Nwe Ni Oo is also blazing a trail for women, who have boxed for Myanmar at the regional showpiece event since 2001 but failed to win gold, cramped by poor funding during the corrupt junta era and a lack of wider support.
Emerging from the shadow of decades of military rule, the country is proud of its reputation for relative gender equality in a region where violence against women is widespread.
The nation’s most famous daughter is Nobel Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and women are given equal rights under the law. Yet they continue to face significant challenges in the impoverished country.
The International Monetary Fund says two-thirds of Myanmar’s women are stuck in unskilled labour with low wages, while only 18 per cent of adult women have attended secondary school.
It is also a deeply traditional culture requiring women to dress modestly and follow well-trodden cultural pathways in the devoutly Buddhist society. Organisers of the games cut gymnastics and beach volleyball from the line-up of events, reportedly convinced the outfits worn by athletes would be too revealing.
But in the sports they have competed in, Myanmar’s women athletes have flourished, winning plaudits and prestige in everything from the local cane-ball game chinlone to football.
The women’s boxing team has earned special praise after claiming a gold, a silver and two bronzes.
As humble outside the ring as she is pugnacious within it, Nwe Ni Oo said she is fighting for a better future for her family, who come from the hard-scrabble southern delta region.
“My family support me … my father in particular wants me to be a great boxer,” she said.
Her victory is all the more remarkable given that she only put on gloves three years ago and came in two kilos underweight for her category at the SEA Games.
To observers, women’s sporting victories are bringing more than just medals.
“Sport can help improve the role of women in this country,” said May Sabe Phyu, a gender equality activist.
“When women claim medals, it shows we are as capable as men,” she said, adding that she also wanted to see a greater gender balance in the heart of government.
The competition, which ended on Sunday, broke new ground for women boxers.
“Myanmar women are traditional … most women can’t box,” said Aung San Oo, a former boxer who spent months training Nwe Ni Oo ahead of the event. “I feel very honoured to help now that women can box and compete in other sports.”
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