Women’s Underwear Causes Fear Among Myanmar Junta

Apparently, there’s a superstition about female undergarments in Myanmar. The military junta fears any contact with underwear—thongs, bikinis, boy shorts, everything—will unsettle military rulers and cause their downfall. Panties for Peace campaign is urging Canadian women to pick a pair of undies from their drawer, glue a picture or write a message for the junta on them, register them with the organization, and then send them to the Myanmar embassy in Ottawa. Women in Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brazil, and other countries across Europe are doing the same, and while this Canadian campaign was just reported on Sify.com, it seems other Panties for Peace initiatives have been going on elsewhere for at least six months. Wouldn’t it be great if the people who work at the embassy donated all the underwear to women who need it? (Well, as long as it’s all clean.) [Sify.com and Guardian.co.uk]