• Give a Gift
  • Customer Service
  • Promotions
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Win
  • Games

April 14, 2008

Please Set Me Free

Share
long necked women of thailand kayan tribe

Zember's sister removes her coil while her grandmother looks on.

Photo Credit: Jack Picone

Special Offer

Zember’s coil required almost two hours to be removed by her skilled elder sister (it takes even longer to put on). The women wear the coils, which are made by Burmese craftsmen, from childhood, starting with four or five rings and adding more each year as they grow accustomed to the bruising and discomfort caused by the weight on their collar bones. They sleep in them and pad their necks with leaves to prevent chafing and sores. Not even the Kayans know for sure how the tradition originated. One theory claims the rings were designed to deter attacks from tigers (which grab victims by the neck), while another says they were meant to lessen the women’s beauty, to ward off men from rival tribes.

One of Zember’s friends, Ma Lo, 24, who has also removed her neck rings, says the women are punished for doing anything modern, like using cell phones or computers. “The owners of the villages dock our wages,” she says. “They say it ruins our traditional image and tourists won’t pay.” In fact, the two women receive no salary at all now, and their refugee status prevents them from finding other work.

Zember, who hopes to become a nurse, admits she has only a fuzzy idea of what life abroad might be like if she escapes. “I learned on the Internet that there are more sheep than people in New Zealand,” she laughs. But she knows a bit about the West from the backpackers she sees. “The girls look so free and sexy, and their eyes shine,” she says. “I stare at them and feel even more determined to fight to get out of here.”

Click here to see more photos of the long-neck women — with and without their coils.

Tell us what you think - we'll send your letters to the Thai embassy and the UNHCR.
Or, donate to LinkHandsForHumanity.com


Share
Connect with Marie Claire:
Advertisement
daily giveaway
Win Cover Star Lea Michele's Favorite Beauty Products!

Win Cover Star Lea Michele's Favorite Beauty Products!

enter now
Latest blog entries
Marie Claire On The Go
  • Start receiving the day's headlines from topics you choose and get the latest posts from our bloggers. Sign up for RSS feeds now.

  • Take Marie Claire with you everywhere you go. Our mobile site has the latest 'it' items of the season. Including: Blogs, Hair & Beauty, Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Horoscopes and so much more!

    Here's how:

    1. Start a mobile session on your phone
    2. type m.marieclaire.com into your browser
    3. that's it!

  • In Every Issue:
    The one-stop shop
    for the very best in
    fashion & beauty


    Give a Gift
    Customer Service
    Marie Claire Magazine
horoscopes
  • Sponsored Links
More From World News on Women
My Life in a Cult

Author Lauren Drain speaks out about picketing U.S. solders' funerals and praising the terrorist attacks of September 11 as a teen member of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church — and about how her parents disowned her for questioning the group's shocking tactics.

Green Queens: The Leading Ladies of Marijuana

Marijuana is going mainstream, and now women are active in all areas of the industry, too. They're lobbyists and pols working to reform drug laws; growers and dispensary owners; and consultants, accountants, and attorneys for the industry. Here's the scoop on four of the most influential women in cannabis.

Where the Boys Are

In China, a cultural preference for boys has created such a severe gender imbalance that unmarried men will soon outnumber unmarried women by an estimated 40 million. Abigail Haworth reports on the country's looming marriage crisis from the lonely hearts ground zero — a village full of bachelors who may never find wives.

post a comment

Special Offer
Link Your Marie Claire Account to Facebook
Welcome!

Marie Claire already has an account with this email address. Link your account to use Facebook to sign in to Marie Claire. To insure we protect your account, please fill in your password below.

Forgot Password?

Thanks for Joining

Your information has been saved and an account has been created for you giving you full access to everything marieclaire.com and Hearst Digital Media Network have to offer. To change your username and/or password or complete your profile, click here.

Continue
Your accounts are now linked

You now have full access to everything Marie Claire and Hearst Digital Media Network have to offer. To change your settings or profile, click here.

Continue