In an exclusive interview with DVB Women’s Voice program, human rights attorney and Supreme Court advocate Zar Li Aye reflected on the personal journey, pivotal moments, and post-coup turning points that carried her from a remote mountain village in Chin State to receiving the International Bar Association’s (IBA) 2026 Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights.
Born in a tiny 13-household village in Falam Township—which was completely destroyed by regime airstrikes in 2022—she grew up in a non-Burmese-speaking, devout household.
After her family relocated to Yangon to seek better educational opportunities, she overcame financial hardships, language barriers, and classroom discrimination while initially pursuing music and the arts.
Although her parents enrolled her in university law courses against her initial artistic ambitions, her perspective transformed during her third year of study when a pro bono lawyer successfully secured the release of her surviving relative following a tragic mountain car crash.
Witnessing how legal defense could be offered without financial expectation inspired her to dedicate her life to pro bono advocacy.
Upon completing her legal training, Zar Li Aye began working alongside highly marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals, sex workers, and labor groups.
Operating on her own bus fare and funding her own meals, she expanded her practice into land rights and legislative reform, examining oppressive statutes, advocating through parliamentarians, and providing public education through media interviews.
The February 2021 military coup represented a drastic turning point in her career.
On Feb. 25, 2021, after 13 members of her Chin community were arbitrarily arrested, she went to Yangon’s Insein Prison to offer defense, only to encounter more than 300 desperate families seeking legal aid.
Recognizing the immense scale of repression, her team established emergency relief funds for prison supplies and handled pro bono defense across more than 3,000 political cases, securing over 500 releases before persistent death threats forced her into exile in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023.
Throughout her legal career, Zar Li Aye has actively confronted both gender and ethnic discrimination within Myanmar’s legal system.
Recalling an early township court case where a police inspector displayed open disrespect during cross-examination, she formally challenged his demeanour on the court record, demonstrating the vital necessity for ethnic nationality women to assert their presence and ensure their voices are heard within official judicial proceedings.
Reflecting on her receipt of the 2026 IBA Award in Copenhagen, Denmark, she shared that while she never conducted her grassroots defense work for accolades, the global recognition validates years of quiet service alongside marginalized communities while increasing her ongoing responsibility to advocate for judicial independence, accountability, and systemic legal reform in Myanmar.
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