Renowned Burmese human rights writer, activist, and former prisoner of conscience joins PEN Perth for a Totally Lit conversation.
In 1993, Ma Thida was sentenced to 20 years in prison for championing freedom of expression and literature in Myanmar. She was a prisoner of conscience for 6 years atInsein Prison before being released in 1999.
Upon her release, Ma Thida continued her advocacy for the rights of writers and journalists. She co-founded PEN Myanmar in 2013, serving as its inaugural President, and became the Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee in 2021.
Ma Thida has been a stalwart in Myanmar’s decades-long struggle for democracy, one made more urgent by the country’s recent military coup and ensuing civil conflict.
