Pwa Hmee (Burmese: ဖွားမှီ; 1902 – 26 June 1962) was the first woman barrister from Myanmar.[2][3] She practised as a barrister after she was called to the bar from the Inner Temple in 1925.[4]
Pwa Hmee | |
|---|---|
| ဖွားမှီ | |
 | |
| Born | 1902 |
| Died | 26 June 1962[1] |
| Nationality | Burmese |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Known for | First Female Burmese Barrister[2][3] |
| Spouse | Myint Thein (chief justice) |
| Parent | Tun Baw (father) |
Biography
editPwa Hmee was born on 1902 in Rangoon, British Burma. She was the eldest daughter of a well respected civil servant in Rangoon. After studying at University College, Rangoon, she went to London, to study for the Bar. In 1924, she applied to become a student at the Inner Temple. Her application included a reference from Harvey Adamson who had been Lieutenant Governor of Burma, from 1910 to 1915.[5] In 1924, she applied to become a student at the Inner Temple, with a reference from Harvey Adamson, who had been Lieutenant Governor of Burma from 1910 to 1915. Pwa Hmee was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1925.
She married Myint Thein, who had also read law and was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1925. Upon their return to Burma, Pwa Hmee became the first woman to practise before the Courts in Burma. Her husband Myint Thein became Burmese ambassador to Nanking, Beijing and the United Nations, before becoming Chief Justice of Burma from, 1957 to 1962.[6]
When the military regime seized power in 1962, Pwa Hmee and Myint Thein refused to cooperate, and Myint Thein was imprisoned. She died in 1962 aged 60, whilst her husband was in prison.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Ma Pwa Hmee". The Inner Temple. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
- ^ a b Ministry of Information. "Commemorating Chief Justice U Myint Thein's 120th birthday | Ministry Of Information". www.moi.gov.mm. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b DR MYINT ZAN (20 March 2020). "The best and the 'baddest': remembering U Myint Thein". Frontier Myanmar.
- ^ Lin Lewis, Su (2016) Cities in Motion: Urban Life and Cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia, 1920-1940.Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107108332
- ^ "First Female Burmese Barrister". First 100 Years. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ "The President Should Appoint Up to Six New Supreme Court Judges". The Global New Light of Myanmar. 16 June 2017. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
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