Panties for Peace at Mount Allison
The Panties for Peace campaign was launched at Mt. A on October 27 and ran until November 3. With trees wrapped in Panties for Peace banners, and a paper panty-covered drop box in the library, the delegation was able to collect about 270 pairs of panties and thirteen boxers (both real and paper) as well as 126 signatures on a petition calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Burma.
Before launching the campaign, however, we at the local delegation decided it was important to educate ourselves before we began to educate others. By choosing specific topics (ie history, human rights, women’s rights, culture, religion, the government in exile, Aung San Suu Kyi, etc) and dividing them among the members of the group, we were able to get a better sense of the overall context for the current abuses that are happening in Burma and appreciate the country beyond the military junta.
On the kick-off day of the campaign, one of our group members wore a bright red pair of panties over her pants like a human rights super hero (which we found was an extremely effective method of advertising!). We also collected the information we learned from our group mini-presentations and, along with the Panties for Peace website, wrote them onto “info panties” cut out of paper which we pasted all over campus. We also sent out a mass email to all staff and students explaining what we were doing and submitted an article about Panties for Peace to our student newspaper, The Argosy, as well as wrapped trees in banners and underwear. For two days we also set up information tables (with a giant see-through collection box) in two high-traffic areas: the cafeteria and the front of the library. In addition to collecting real underwear, we had paper cut out undies people could write a little protest on or paste a sticker on; we found this particularly useful, as many people were either uncomfortable having their panties/boxers out for all to see, did not feel comfortable sending real underwear to the embassy, or did not have any extra to give. On the side, we had an Amnesty International petition calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners; this allowed us to engage people who did not feel comfortable with the panties concept at all.
For the rest of the week we left the big, transparent collection box in the front of the library with a Panties for Peace banner, instructions, some basic information, the petition, and blank paper panties with markers and stickers out so people could drop by any time and participate when they wished. We encouraged anyone who had extra time to just sit by the box for a bit to answer any questions people had (and there were a lot, as well as plenty of giggles).
On the final day of the campaign, we had the pleasure of hosting Mika Lévesque, Rights and Democracy’s Asia specialist and founder of Panties for Peace in Canada, for a talk about the origins of the campaign and Burma in general. She also had the opportunity to present in a Political Science class about Canada’s involvement in Burma.
After talking to Mika about the various creative ways one can send panties to the Burmese embassy in Ottawa, we have decided to send a package of panties to the embassy every day or two, each with a different return address to media outlets or the Chinese embassy. With the packages, we will include a little note addressed to those we put down as the return address explaining Panties for Peace and why they are getting the package (ie because the Burmese embassy had refused to accept our protest).
Overall, the campaign was very successful and created a lot of buzz around campus not only about the issue, but also about Rights and Democracy (which will certainly help when we carry out future campaigns). We collected panties written in Thai, boxers that were submitted in solidarity with the women in Burma, skimpy black thongs, and a particularly flamboyant paper cut out pair of panties with tassles and sparkles.
Who knew that panties could be so political?
Media coverage of the Mount Allison Delegation’s Panties for Peace campaign:
Panties for Peace. Boxers for Burma. The Argosy By Christina Free