--- description: Find out why Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedbc1b4c2bf89ec/698a1cd3b3fce3f4790c84d7/esther-ze-naw-ei-thinzar-maung-time-100-2021-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 15, 2021 # Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung by MiMi Aye  Esther Ze Naw and Ma Ei Thinzar Maung The New York Times/Redux Esther Ze Naw and Ma Ei Thinzar Maung The New York Times/ReduxThe New York Times/Redux Three fingers aloft, faces aglow, clad in their bright-red shirts—a nod to the Karen ethnic minority—Esther Ze Naw Bamvo (who is Kachin) and Ei Thinzar Maung (who is Shan-ni) were a vision of strength, honor and justified anger as they led people on the very first [anti-military protest](https://time.com/5938674/myanmar-protest-digital-crackdown/ "undefined") in Yangon just five days after the [Feb. 1 coup](https://time.com/5934896/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-detained-coup/ "undefined") that violently robbed Myanmar of its freedom. The fierceness of [Myanmar’s women](https://time.com/6052954/myanmar-women-military/ "undefined") has long been suppressed by its military, so this brave new generation sent a surge of pride through us all. Through their work, both activists have broken new ground. Esther is a leader of the Kachin Peace Network and was one of the few people in the past who were courageous enough to speak up for the Rohingya; Ei Thinzar, also a longtime activist on ethnic minority rights, has been named as Myanmar’s youngest-ever deputy minister in the National Unity Government, an exiled group formed by members of parliament ousted in the coup. It’s thanks to these women and others like them, that we [finally have hope](https://time.com/5953413/myanmar-protests-hope/ "undefined") for the [future of Myanmar](https://time.com/5943708/myanmar-youth-protests/ "undefined"). _Aye is the author of_ MANDALAY: Recipes and Tales From a Burmese Kitchen_, and host of the food and culture podcast_ The MSG Pod ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095960/esther-ze-naw-bamvo-ei-thinzar-maung/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095960/esther-ze-naw-bamvo-ei-thinzar-maung/"},"headline":"Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung: TIME100 2021","datePublished":"2021-09-15T11:19:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:13.768Z","description":"Find out why Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung made the 2021 TIME 100 list.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095960/esther-ze-naw-bamvo-ei-thinzar-maung/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021","T100 2021 Pioneers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedbc1b4c2bf89ec/698a1cd3b3fce3f4790c84d7/esther-ze-naw-ei-thinzar-maung-time-100-2021-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdedbc1b4c2bf89ec/698a1cd3b3fce3f4790c84d7/esther-ze-naw-ei-thinzar-maung-time-100-2021-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095960/esther-ze-naw-bamvo-ei-thinzar-maung/","name":"Esther Ze Naw Bamvo and Ei Thinzar Maung: TIME100 2021"}}]}] ```