Daw Mya Sein ( my, ဒေါ်မြစိန်; 13 October 1904 – 10 November 1988) was a Burmese writer, educator and historian. She led the Burma Women's Council, served as a representative of Asia for the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1931, and as a representative at the Geneva Women's Conference; she was recommended for roundtable attendance by the British government and by several international women's organizations.

Early life and education

Mya Sein was born in

Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...

(present-day Mawlamyine), British Burma. She is the youngest child of three of May Oung, a legal scholar who served

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of British Burma, and his wife Thein Mya, a great-granddaughter of Htaw Lay, Governor of Dala. She attended Diocesan Girl's High School and St. Mary's SPG High School. She was ranked as the fifth best high school student in the whole country in 1919. She continuing educated at Rangoon College, she got ranking first and was awarded Jardin Prize. She graduated from

Rangoon University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...

in 1927 and continuing educated in

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1928.

Career and works

Mya Sein was the first Burmese woman to graduate from

in the late 1930. From 1931 to 1933, She served as a representative of Asia for the

, representative of Geneva Women Conference and representative to the Burma Round Table Conference in London. From 1939 to 1942, She served as a representative member of the Burmese-Chinese Peace and chairwoman of the Yangon Education Board. From 1950 to 1960, Mya Sein was a lecturer of history and political science at

. After her retirement, she became a visiting professor of Burmese history and culture at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York. As a prolific writer, Mya Sein penned many articles on Burma in international publications, notably penning the "Administration of Burma" in 1938, "Burma" in 1944 and "The Future of Burma" also in 1944.

Books

* ''Administration of Burma'' (1938) * ''Burma'' (1944) * ''The Future of Burma'' (1944)

Personal life

Mya Sein was married to ICS U Shwe Baw in 1933 and divorce in 1954, she had one son and one daughter, Mya Baw and Mya Thandar. She died on 10 November 1988 at the age of 84.

References

{{authority control 1904 births 1988 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford 20th-century Burmese women writers 20th-century Burmese writers People from Mawlamyine Burmese people of Mon descent People from British Burma