Canadian Women Send Panties to Burma for Peace

May 29th 2008
By Tom Radle


In Burma, women are considered inferior by powerful men, and the military has a superstitious belief that contact with females, even their clothing, will make them weak.

Just as kryptonite has the power to shut down Superman's powers, the cooties from women's underwear can purportedly sap the strength of Burmese military leaders.

So, in protest against the repressive regime, activists around the world have been involved in a "Panties for Peace!" campaign to send panties to Burmese embassies. The Quebec Women's Federation and the activist group Rights and Democracy are currently coordinating this protest in Canada, and a Burmese activist, Thet Thet Tun, told Canadian television that "[underwear] that has already been worn will be most effective to put them to shame."

We're no experts on shaming military regimes, but we know Japanese men have been known to pay a lot of money for worn women's underwear. If ads start popping up on the Burmese version of Craigslist offering soiled panties, we'll know to blame it on Canada.