Zoya Phan

Quick Facts

Full Name	Zoya Phan
Occupation	Human Rights Activist
Date Of Birth	Oct 27, 1980(1980-10-27)
Age	44
Birthplace	Manerplaw
Country	Myanmar
Horoscope	Libra

Zoya Phan Biography

Zoya Phan is one of the most popular and richest Human Rights Activist who was born on October 27, 1980 in Manerplaw, Myanmar. Zoya Phan was the second child of her biological parents and was born in Manerplaw (then the headquarters of Karen National Union (KNU)). Her father was Padoh Mahal Sha Lah Phan, the General Secretary of KNU. Her mother was Nant Kyin Shwe who was a former soldier for KNU. Her father named Zoya after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a Russian World War II hero. He said that he saw many parallels between the Soviet battle against the Nazis and ongoing conflict with the Burmese government. The Karen village Per He Lu was only an hour away from Manerplaw’s KNU headquarters. This is where she spent the majority of her childhood. She began spending more time in Manerplaw at six years old, when she became aware of the fighting in Burma. Landmine victims often went to Manerplaw’s hospital for treatment.

She spoke at a Conservative Party conference in 2007 and called for the British government not to trade with the Burmese government. She also expressed anger at the British government’s inaction towards Burma despite human rights violations. After China and Russia blocked a Security Council motion, she was very critical of the UN’s inability to impose an arms embargo against Burma. She later met with Gordon Brown, the British prime minister at the time, to push for a trade embargo against Burma.

In 2008, she accused the Burmese government of using Cyclone Nargis to proliferate ethnic cleansing. She said that the government’s lack of warning people about the impending cyclone and refusal of foreign aid to assist with medical treatment and rebuilding lead to thousands of unnecessary deaths. In addition, she harshly criticised Western governments, especially the United Kingdom, for refusing to push further when Burma agreed to allow relief workers into small parts of the country, saying that they did not do enough to hold the Burmese government accountable for its lack of response to the cyclone. She pointed out that the junta had already bent to international pressure by allowing workers in at all, and said that the international community should have pushed harder, which she said would have forced the junta to allow more essential aid. Ultimately, she said the international reaction was symbolic of the past several decades of inaction towards political and human rights abuses in Burma.

In 2009, Zoya became a TED Fellow. In March 2010, she was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Zoya’s father used her name often as a pseudonym in his writings when she was young. This is something that she learned about only years later. Her father spoke to her for the first time while she was with her family in Ther Waw Thaw. This inspired her to become an activist. She began volunteering for the Burma Campaign UK after she arrived in the UK in 2005. One rally she attended was in traditional Karen attire and she was asked to be the master de ceremonies. Soon after, she was asked to interview the BBC. She quickly became a popular speaker on issues related to Burma or Burma-UK relations.

Zoya Phan Net Worth

Zoya Phan is one of the richest Human Rights Activist from Myanmar. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Zoya Phan 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Zoya Phan, a political activist of Burma from Karen descent, was born 27 October 1980. She is currently a Campaigns Manager at the human rights organization Burma Campaign UK and resides in the United Kingdom. When the Burmese government was under military rule, she was a vocal critic and demanded democratic reform. She also called for economic sanctions from the United Nations and the British government. She has continued to advocate for international action to end human rights violations in Burma, particularly regarding the Burmese Army’s use of rape and sexual violence towards ethnic women.

At the age of 14, Zoya was attacked by the Burmese army at Per He Lu and Manerplaw. Her family fled to Mae Ra Moe in Thailand, where they found refugee camps. She and her family crossed into Burma in 1996. They settled in Ther Waw Thaw, a Karen village. Halfway through her school year, she almost died from an unknown disease. She was only able to recover after several weeks on an IV drip. The Burmese army attacked the village in March 1997. She and her family fled across the border to Noh Poe, a refugee camp near a Thai-Karen village. After ten months, Zoya, her older sister Nant Bwa Bhwa Phan, was able to travel to Mae Sot, Thailand for three months. They hoped to be able to attend a university there, but this did not happen. Instead, they chose to finish their education in Mae La. Bwa Bwa and Zoya Bwa took the Open Society Institute (OSI), exam in 1999 to get a scholarship to attend university. They both passed the exam. However, Bwa Bwa was unable to take the exam so Zoya had the opportunity to retake it the next year. While she waited, she contracted cerebral malaria and nearly died. She took the OSI exam again in 2000 and was awarded an OSI scholarship. Prospect Burma also gave her a scholarship, which allowed her to study with her sister in Bangkok.

Because Zoya had entered the UK with a falsified passport, she was almost deported, but was allowed to stay while applying for refugee status. Two years after her initial application, after applying for judicial review in August 2007, the British government granted it to her. After delivering her first speeches for the Burma Campaign UK, a radio transmission was intercepted, which contained a Burmese government’s hit list with her name on it. On 14 February 2008, just before she received her MA from the University of East Anglia, Zoya’s father was assassinated by agents of the Burmese junta. Despite her name still being on the Burmese government’s hit list, she and her family decided to attend his funeral in They Bey Hta, just inside Kayin State in Burma. Following this, Zoya and her remaining family set up the Phan Foundation, which aims to fight poverty, promote education and human rights, and protect the culture of the Karen people of Burma. She received her MA in politics and development from the University of East Anglia in May 2008. Today, she resides in London, UK.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Zoya Phan Dating?

According to our records, Zoya Phan is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Zoya Phan’s is not dating anyone.

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Writing in the UK newspaper The Independent in 2015, following election in Burma which the NLD won by a landslide, she warned that the struggle for human rights in the country was still not over.

Facts & Trivia

Zoya Ranked on the list of most popular Human Rights Activist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Myanmar. Zoya Phan celebrates birthday on October 27 of every year.