State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi wrote on her Facebook page yesterday that we didn’t feel small for our country in combatting COVID and we could conspicuously confront the challenges even though we weren’t among the wealthiest countries in the region. This was what she wrote.

The State Counsellor stressed that it’s not unusual COVID issue was overwhelming in a round of discussions at the ASEAN Summit meetings the other day; They were emphasizing upon how to better handle the post-COVID consequences in the future while tackling the current challenges; The entire world was thinking similarly and it was of vital importance to realize the same concept.

Discussing women’s affairs, they touched on the COVID impacts upon women and the roles of the women in rehabilitating of the post-COVID period. I was satisfied and wanted to share one statesman saying male individuals did not notice that they had got their places, positions and opportunities not because of their excellent performances but because they are men.

Considering this, nobody can deny that women are also working hard and excellent. We cannot deny that men take the majority of highest-level positions.

Seventy per cent of service personnel in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the female staff. How would it be in the next ten years? I prefer a 50-50. I want to see both women and men representing our country in unison. Representing the country and taking the responsibilities of the nation, men should also actively and enthusiastically perform their duties. All male and female individuals should be interested in how to handle the issues in the world stage as for no bigger country like us. We didn’t feel small for our country in combatting COVID; We could conspicuously confront the challenges even though we weren’t among the wealthiest countries in the region; We’re announcing to extend the existing restrictions.

We need to move forward unswervingly in a middle way like a saying ‘Extremes are dangerous’. It is an advantage that we need to share each other more understanding and empathy in this journey. — GNLM