Aung San Suu Kyi
Author of Freedom from Fear and Other Writings
About the Author
Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades." As leader of the prodemocracy movement and cofounder of the National League for Democracy, the nation's opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for what Myanmar's leaders show more call treasonous acts after clashes between demonstrators and armed troops in 1988 and 1989. A scholar and mother, Aung San Suu Kyi had never directly involved herself in politics, yet she was always aware of her identity as the daughter of Aung San, the late Burmese nationalist leader who led the country to independence. During a trip to her homeland, she became aware of deteriorating human rights and the people's cry for democracy. She began her crusade in August 1988 by traveling throughout Burma, calling on the people to help bring democracy to a country governed as a dictatorship since 1962. By introducing the issue of basic human rights, especially the right to choose one's government, Aung San Suu Kyi inspired crowds wherever she went. Aung San Suu Kyi received Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Aung San Suu Kyi
Works by Aung San Suu Kyi
Une révolution des consciences : Suivi de Appeler le peuple à la lutte ouverte (2010) 3 copies, 1 review
La Mia Birmania 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1945-06-19
- Gender
- female
- Country (for map)
- Burma
- Education
- Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi (1964)
Oxford University (St. Hugh's College, BA|Philosophy, Politics, and Economics|1969)
University of London (PhD|School of Oriental and African Studies|1985) - Relationships
- Aris, Michael (husband)
Aris, Anthony (brother-in-law) - Awards and honors
- Nobel Prize (Peace|1991)
Freedom of the City of London (1997revoked|2017)
Freedom of the City of Oxford (1997|revoked|2017)
Freedom of the City of Dublin (1999|revoked|2017)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000)
Olof Palme Prize (2005) (show all 9)
Canada (honorary citizenship|2007|revoked|2018)
BBC Reith Lecturer (2011)
Elie Wiesel Award (2012|rescinded|2018)
Members
Reviews
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 15
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 707
- Popularity
- #35,840
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 17
- ISBNs
- 44
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 2
All of these overt and covert attacks would have ground most people down, but she bore it with good grace and resilience. She was sustained by her drive to see the country she loves, one day gain a functioning democracy. In these fifty-two letters, she discusses the problems that they have as a country, describes the plight of those that have suffered at the hands of the regime and the repression of the population. It is also full of minutia, she talks about the weather, taking tea and the festivals that were still permitted.
In some ways I liked this, she speaks with a strong voice and brings to life the country that very few have seen from outside. All the way through she has a very clear aim of bringing urgent and necessary change to the country change all the time she was in custody, an aim that the authorities to every opportunity to frustrate. She was released in 2010 and won the election in 2015. She has not been able to hold the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners – provisions from the constitution that seem to have been written specifically to prevent her from being eligible. She was awarded the position of State Counsellor and wields power from there. She has faced criticism in the past couple of years as she has seemingly deliberately ignored the plight of the Rohingya people and the genocide that they are suffering. It tarnishes what is a good book and until that point a life that should have been celebrated.… (more)