By Tenzin Choephel
Phayul Correspondent
Kathmandu: Over a hundred Tibetan women gathered at the Drupthok monastery atop Swoyambu hill to commemorate the 48th Tibetan Women’s Uprising Day against illegal Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959. The Tibetan Women’s Association of Kathmandu organized a function to mark the anniversary by offering prayer and prayer flags for all Tibetans including Tibetan women martyrs who have lost their life for Tibet.
The prayer was followed by singing of Tibetan National Anthem, observing a minute silence to mourn the death of over 1.2 million Tibetans in Tibet under Chinese oppression, reciting prayer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and finally tsampa throwing ceremony. Mrs. Ngawang Sangmo, the president of TWA Kathmandu read out the TWA statement of the anniversary. After the official ceremony, the group of Tibetan women walked for a short distance chanting anti Chinese slogans.
One Tibetan lady Mrs. Lhamo Tsering said, “it has been over 48 years now, when thousands of Tibetans demonstrated on streets of Lhasa in 1959, I was young that time, we have been remembering this day for all these years. In Tibet, today there would be only sangsol (incense burning prayer) but you could not dare to protest. Many Tibetan women martyrs including Kundeling Kunsang La and Trinley Chodon La (who was publicly murdered by Chinese in Lhasa in 1972) have lost their life, after all men left women continued their struggle and it has never been broken until now. It is fact that Tibetan women are also taking up a huge responsibility and it is very important, TWA is big organization and has an important role to play in the Tibetan struggle. His Holiness have created such an conducive environment for the Sino-Tibet dialogue for so many years but the Chinese Government is still not responding, so TWA and every Tibetan individual should act and we should send a message to the Chinese. I think 2007 is very important, every individual should not relax this year and we should work hard to achieve something”.
Even though only over a hundred Tibetan women gathered for the occasion, it is important that Tibetan women remembered the day to pay respect to all Tibetan women who have died under Chinese occupation. Tibetan nuns have played a major role in rising up against the Chinese rule in recent years and they continue to suffer oppression in Tibet. This scribe noticed that there were very few young Tibetan girls present today, it could be due to lack of time, co-ordination or whatever reason but it could be felt that more presence of young girls in such Tibetan women function is necessary to educate future Tibetan women about the struggle of Tibetans, at least for all young Tibetan girls of Kathmandu.
