About the Speaker
Wai Wai
Nu
Rohingya Burmese activist and former political prisoner
Wai Wai Nu is a Rohingya Burmese activist and the director and founder of the Women’s Peace Network. Nu was a political prisoner for seven years under the Burmese military government and emerged to serve as a national and international voice for Burma’s human rights and democracy movements. Through the Women’s Peace Network, Nu has conducted women’s empowerment trainings, offered legal education seminars, and organized human rights and peacebuilding activities. After completing her law degree in 2014, Nu founded Justice for Women, which operates as a network of female lawyers providing legal consultation and education for the women of Burma. In 2016, Nu founded the Yangon Youth Center, where young people learn and explore their ideas and promote leadership in society, politics, and peacebuilding. Nu was selected as one of the BBC’s 100 Top Women in 2014 and one of Foreign Policy’s 100 World Thinkers in 2015. She was also selected as one of Time magazine’s Next Generation Leaders.