Asama Shinmee

Asama Shinmee is a 41 year old Lisu woman from Chiang Mai. Asama has worked for many years as an administrator and gender equality committee member with Asia Indigenous People’s Pact the only grassroots based Asia wide indigenous network. Recently she joined the Lisu network in which her good English language skills will enable her to play an important role in linking the network with the wider human and indigenous rights movements. As a community consultant she is currently working with other Lisu women leaders to set up women’s group income generation projects in Lisu villages. She sees this as the foundation for building the women’s capacity to negotiate with government agencies on resource use and management and to enable them to participate in the decision making process.