Prison life in Burma is hard enough for able-bodied men; for women, it can be a vision of hell... "At least 57 of the more than 1,100 political prisoners currently behind bars in Burma are women. Burma?s women were always prominent o­n the country?s political scene, joining the anti-colonial struggle that brought independence and then participating in the task of building a viable state. Since the 1988 popular uprising and subsequent crackdown that smothered the last vestiges of democracy, hundreds of women have been locked up for speaking out against their country?s descent into brutal dictatorship. The courage of these women demands special recognition because of their disdain for the ghastly conditions of prison life that they know await them. The list of abuses is long and makes for depressing reading—beatings and other acts of brutality, sexual harassment, humiliation, primitive living conditions, insufficient food and medical attention, a complete disregard for the special health and sanitary needs of women. o­ne political prisoner described her account of the horrors of life behind bars as her ?diary in hell.”..."