Born: 1969 (Phenpo, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China)
Biography:
Phuntsog Nyidron (born 1969) is a Tibetan Buddhist nun and a former high-profile prisoner in Tibet. Born in Phenpo near Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, in 1969, Nyidron did not attend school but instead enrolled in the Michungri Nunnery at the age of 18, eventually becoming the semiofficial leader of the nunnery.
In 1989, the year His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize, Nyidron and eight other nuns embarked on a journey from their hometown to the capital city, Lhasa. This was a period when Lhasa was under martial law due to the Tibetan unrest of 1989. Despite being advised against it, Nyidron and three other nuns decided to separate from the main group and went to the Barkhor area around Jokhang Temple. There, they distributed leaflets and boldly shouted slogans such as Chinese get out of Tibet and Long Live Dalai Lama.
Their actions did not go unnoticed, and the local Tibetan police swiftly arrested them. Nyidron and her companions were then sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court. The charges against them were counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement.
While still in prison in 1993, Nyidron clandestinely recorded and smuggled out politically charged songs, praising the Dalai Lama and advocating for an independent Tibet. Unfortunately, this led to another conviction of counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement, resulting in an extension of her sentence by eight additional years.
Throughout her time at Drapchi Prison, Nyidron demonstrated immense courage and resilience by partaking in hunger strikes and exposing allegations of corporal punishment and other mistreatment endured by the prisoners. In 1994, the Prison Law of the People’s Republic of China was amended to address such abuses.
Despite her hardships, Nyidron drew international attention and became one of the better-known Tibetan prisoners outside Tibet. Her case gained support from various United States Congress parliamentarians and governmental groups, who launched a release campaign on her behalf. Thanks to their efforts and the Chinese government’s desire to improve Sino-American relations, her sentence was eventually reduced and commuted in 2004.
Following her release, Nyidron has since settled in Switzerland, where she has been living since 2006. Her extraordinary story of bravery and perseverance has made her an important figure in women’s history and a symbol of resistance against oppression.