Australia-ASEAN Women in Constitution-Building Capacity Development Program

Tsamara Amany

Tsamara is a young politician from the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) based in Jakarta. She earned her bachelor degree in Communications from Paramadina University in 2018. Before joining a new youth-based political party, Tsamara was consultant intern at City Hall to then-governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.She helped the governor and beuracracy to simplify business permits and provide communications strategy in order to increase Jakarta’s World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking. She also established an NGO named Perempuan Politik to educate and improve girls’ awareness on Indonesian politics. Tsamara is one of the youngest legislative candidates. She ran for parliament from South Jakarta, Central Jakarta, and overseas in 2019 election.

Anna Basman

Atty Anna Basman is formerly part of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) as the Head of the Legal Team for the Government Panel in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). As such, she sat as a member of technical working groups and other special teams for the discussion of contentious issues during the peace talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She held this position during the significant parts until the end of the negotiations when the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) was signed in 2014, and thereafter, in the initial stages of its implementation and translation into law. She left this position upon her appointment as Deputy Executive Director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, an agency under the Office of the President which is mandated to ensure the rights and well-being of the Muslim Filipinos. Currently, she is a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the eighty-member interim parliament for the sub-national government unit created pursuant to the CAB, otherwise known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). She finished her MSc in Islamic Finance and Management at the Durham University in the United Kingdom under the Chevening Programme of the British Government. She earned her public administration and law degrees from the University of the Philippines.

Sirikan "June" Charoensiri

Sirikan “June” Charoensiri studied law at Thammasat University, Bangkok (LL.B. in 2009) and at the University of Essex, UK (LL.M. in 2013). She is a licensed lawyer to practice in Thailand. Upon graduation in 2009 she started her human rights work with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in Thailand, i.e. in the field of human rights and access to justice as well as in cases of enforced disappearance. Immediately after the May 2014 coup d'état in Thailand, June co-founded Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), a coalition of human rights lawyers and defenders. TLHR raises awareness and provides free litigation and legal assistance to vulnerable people whose rights have been affected by martial law, the military junta’s rules and orders. Due to her representation in court of activists of the New Democracy Movement and refusing warrantless searches, June received threats by high-ranking police officers and currently faces several sets of criminal charges. June received the Lawyers for Lawyers Award in 2017. In March 2018, she was honored among ten women to receive the International Women of Courage Award from the US State Department. In addition, in December 2018, the Foreign Minister of German and France together awarded the 2018 Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law to June in recognition of her commitment for human rights and the rule of law.

Tinzar Htun

Tinzar Htun is a freelance researcher specializing in natural resource management and decentralization. She has been a consultant to the World Bank on EITI implementation support in Myanmar since June 2017. In 2018, she co-authored a report titled “Schedule Two of the 2008 Constitution: Avenues for reform and decentralization and steps towards a federal system", supported and published by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). Her previous job at the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation, where she was responsible for the production of a bi-monthly State and Regions Parliaments News Bulletin, strengthened and deepened her interests in the constitutional building. Currently, she is a fellow with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and writing a paper titled "Public Brainpower and Natural Resource Governance in Myanmar." She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Sustainable Development) from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan.

Angkhana Neelapaichit

Angkhana Neelapaijit is the founder and Chairwomen of Justice for Peace Foundation. Angkhana worked relentlessly to help victims of human rights abuses in Thailand the mission has made her one of the Thailand’s most prominent human rights defender. Angkhana used to be the member of Constitutional Drafting Committee and Member of Constitutional Assembly in 2007, the member of Drafting Committee on Gender Equality Act 2015. She also be the ‘New Zealand Prime Minister’s Fellowship for ASEAN Leader 2016’ and Commissioner -National Human Rights Commission of Thailand since November 2015 to July 2019. Her dedication has won her several international human rights awards, includes the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights and the honored by the European Parliament as “Women Human Rights Defender” on 2006, an honor “De Chevalier De I’Ordre de la Le’gion d’Honneur” from the French President on 2010. Angkhana was also honored by The Ramon Magsaysay Foundation as Ramon Magsaysay Awardee 2019.

Susan Ubalde-Ordinario

Susan Ubalde Ordinario is a Filipino, married and with two daughters. She entered law school at a rather late age, because she prioritized her two daughters whom she felt needed her more in their earlier developmental years. She became a lawyer at the age of 49 and has been actively practicing her profession for the past 20 years. She has had more or less twenty year of experience, also as an employee in the civil service of the government, having worked in the three branches in various capacities. Throughout her working life, Susan has been involved in various civil society organizations because she has often felt the inefficacy of government in making a difference in the lives of her countrymen. Thus, she decided that while government does whatever it feels is best for the people, pepole in the private sector, in civil society, have to supplement these efforts with services that will directly address the particular concerns of the community in which she personally was part of. She has been an officer of these various organizations, namely the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (Catanduanes Chapter), the Rotary Club of Virac (Catanduanes), the local (Catanduanes) chamber of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Philippine Red Cross Catanduanes Chapter, a local radio communicators group serving as a force multiplier for the local peace and order authorities, a cultural heritage group, and a children’s rights group, and as the Provincal Convenor for the Federalista Alyansa ng Bicol (advocates for federalism). Susan has taught in several academic institutions on law subjects in their course curriculums, but due to her erratic and very busy professional commitments which prevents her efficient handling of a class of students, she has had to desist from taking on more teaching assignments. To her mind, her involvement in the drafting of a proposed Federal Constitution for the Philippines is her greatest challenge and passion.

Nyo Nyo Thin

Dr. Nyo Nyo Thinn became popular as an opposition female MP in the first Yangon Region parliament for her support for women's rights, anti-corruption, and rule of law, and became known as a lone lion. She submitted 40 motions and asked more than 400 questions in parliament from 2011 to 2015 to check and balance the government, and worked to halt projects that lacked transparency. She is one of the few MPs who publicly declared her assets during the 2015 campaign. She graduated from Yangon University in 1991 majoring in Law, and received a master's degree in law in 1996. Dr. Nyo Nyo Thinn served as a faculty member of law at Yangon and Taunggu Universities and University of Distance Education for 13 years up to the level of lecturer. She was awarded a scholarship in 2000 from Japan, and received a second master's degree in law in 2003, then acquired her Doctorate of Law in 2006 at Yokohama National University. From 2007 to 2009, she pursued her post doctoral study and worked as a visiting professor at the Peace and Governance Program of the United Nations University, and visiting lecturer at Hosei University, Keio University and Chuo University. She was included in the "top 100 most powerful women" listed by BBC in 2014. She was also granted the Women's Rights and Political Award from the Myanmar Women’s Organizations Network (2013) and the Emerging Young Political Leader selected from the U.S. State Department(2015) including International Republican Institute (IRI), US’s Wellesley Colleague, and Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University).She has been often threatened and cyber-bullied by lobbyist groups since she has different political insights with political leadership in Myanmar.

Raihal Fajri

Raihal Fajri is the executive director of Katahati Institute based in Aceh, Indonesia. She has been managing organization since 2013 until now. Katahati Institute is an organisation that focuses on democracy and good governance issues. She is involved in advocacy of Law of Government of Aceh (LoGA) and qanun (derivative of the LoGA). She was honored as a panelist at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) on March 13‐24, 2017 in New York as South East Asia representative to talk about The Women’s Roles in Peace Building. She was involved in drafting medium‐term development plan of Banda Aceh city, 2017‐2022 since July until November 2017. She is one of the initiator of drafting Social Protection Action Plan in Aceh, supported by UNICEF, 2015‐2017 that have been implementing by Aceh Regional Planning Agency. She has been a consultant to Communication, Technology of information and Coding Agency in implementing public information disclosure since 2012.