context

Considering that Burma has been under a repressive military rule since 1962, demonstrates the obstacles facing Aung San, especially given the government’s total lack of respect for the human rights of those who dare dissent in the face of oppression. Given that her father helped establish Burma as an independent nation, and died for his beliefs before he ever got to see his beloved country become independent from colonial rule, there is a sense of family duty toward the people of Burma. Aung San’s return to Burma emerged from a sense of family duty in helping her ailing mother, but she also could not have helped but feel her other familiar obligation to all of Burma. Because her visit to her mother coincided with a large sense of democratic yearning, she returned at a time when she realized she could apply her sense of duty during a potentially politically transformative time. Like her father, Aung San chose to join a vibrant national movement against the military regime and its lack of tolerance for the system and tenets of democracy. While much of Asia had become democratic already, Burma enjoyed few years of more open politics between the independence of 1948 and the establishment of autocratic rule in 1962. Due to her articulation of her own personal struggle against political oppression combined with her non-violent philosophy, Aung San has become an icon in Burmese society likened to that of Gandhi.
Aung San’s vision of a post-colonial Burma, celebrating the values of human dignity, has not only continued the legacy of Burmese independence from non-democratic rule that her father helped end, but has become the voice of the people.
She has sacrificed her ability to have proximity to her family, in exchange for her devotion to her cause. Few can maintain such grace and dignity in the face of such repeated adversary. Aung San claims to spend most of her time under house arrest meditating. Her faith of Theravada Buddhism, the main faith of Burma, has been key in establishing her doctrine of acting humanely; many Burmese have reported statues of buddhas growing breasts, indicating how her struggle has been integrated into the faith and culture of all Burmese fighting for their freedom. In the post-colonial world, the idea of realizing freedom after colonialism has brought colossal changes to global politics, and Aung San’s fight for democracy in a post-colonial nation stands as a particular voice imagining a truly free Burma, without colonialism of its own people.
Burma is considered a giant abuser of human rights in a post-modern world in which we would like to believe such ugliness does not exist. Prostitution and child labor are huge issues, and the Burmese people are treated like work mules by a government that in no way represents them and creates internal ethnic divisions. These oppressive living conditions have been the status quo for Burma for decades, yet Aung San has tenaciously remained the symbol of the silenced Burmese people. With her intriguing beauty, compassionate outlook and steadfast dedication to her values, she has come to represent the poetic and unyielding masses that live under authoritarian rule.