Thaungyin Mae Institute

Who we are

“We are a group of women human rights defenders who protect and promote women’s rights, raising awareness, providing legal consultations and MHPSS support.”

Background

    Thaungyin Mae Institute is a women-led, non-profit civil society group. It was founded on May 1, 2024, in Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand, near the Thailand-Myanmar border. The institute was formed by a group of lawyers and a Judge who fled Myanmar due to threats, arbitrary arrests, and persecution by the military regime and a judge who was involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). These lawyers had previously provided free legal aid to political prisoners after the 2021 military coup. The organization started with six members. 

    The main objective of Thaungyin Mae Institute is to protect and promote the rights of women, girls, migrant workers, and human trafficking survivors, some arrive at the Myanmar-Thailand border for various reasons. In 2024, the group actively provided legal consultations via the Hmyata Lann Hynun social media platform for women facing domestic violence, rape cases, sexual violence cases, and human trafficking cases. Additionally, it shares legal awareness content on its social media pages. It conducts online training on Myanmar's judicial system and complaint mechanisms for displaced women, women-led organizations, female parliamentarians, and Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs members. 

    Furthermore, the institute collaborates with partner organizations to data collect and legally analyze information on human rights violations in Myanmar, aligning findings with both domain and international laws to advocate by reports. In Mae Sot, the organization conducts human rights training, including sessions on CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), anti-human trafficking laws, and labor rights for women, girls, LGBTQ+ individuals, and migrant workers. Thaungyin Mae Institute is committed to social justice initiatives centered on women's rights, supporting the development of a peaceful and inclusive society. It also strives toward the emergence of a federal democratic Myanmar in the future. 

 Our Logo

     Our logo consists of six symbols: 

    the black color, a Paduma lotus flower, the letters T, Y, and M, and a woman's face. 

• Black represents the color of Myanmar’s judicial staff uniform. 

• Paduma Lotus Flower symbolizes purity and intelligence. 

• TYM stands for Thaungyin Mae: 

• T represents Thailand, 

• Y stands for the Thaungyin River, which marks the Thai-Myanmar border, 

• M represents Myanmar. 

• A woman's face symbolizes women and girls. 

    The logo represents a women-led group growing along the Thai-Myanmar border near the Thaungyin River. The members are justice-focused women, and it symbolizes support for women, girls, and intersex individuals. 

 Mission                                                                                   

"Our mission is to empower women, girls, and marginalized communities by promoting and protecting their fundamental women’s rights through awareness raising, legal consultations, advocacy, and case referrals. We strive to strengthen their resilience against gender-based violence and oppression by providing access to survival centers and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in collaboration with partner networks."

Vision

“We envision a peaceful society free of gender-based oppression where women's rights and gender equality are ensured in law and practice.”

Goals

“A society free from gender-based oppression is achieved by empowering women-led feminist movements, amplifying marginalized voices of survivors, promoting women’s rights and providing legal support through a survivor-centered approach.”

Values

“Gender equality, Women's rights, and Legal justice”

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 Organizational Structure