Mizzima
In Myanmar, during 2023, 392 women were killed and a further 541 were detained by the junta, according to the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU).
The figures cover the period between 1 January and 31 December 2023.
According to Ma Wai Wai, the joint general secretary (2) of the BWU, the number of women casualties is rising every month and the number of women killed and detained has risen each year since the February 2021 coup.
The BWU also attributes the higher numbers of women victims in 2023 to the junta’s increasing use of airstrikes, heavy artillery and arson. The BWU said that the junta soldiers also torture women during interrogation and subject them to sexual violence.
Ma Wai Wai said: “The human rights violations committed by the Military Council, specifically targeting women and girls as instruments of conflict, must cease. To address and prevent such situations, it is imperative to establish international regulations and implement robust punitive measures.”
Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, the National Unity Government (NUG) Minister of Women, Youth, and Children’s Affairs said, in her New Year’s speech that the NUG would prioritise treating the physical and mental health problems of women, youths and children who have been abused by the junta. She also said that her ministry will diligently pursue justice for the abused and ensure that the perpetrators of such violence are persecuted for war crimes.
She said: “To ensure justice for the brutal killings, war crimes, and sexual violence inflicted by the terrorist Military Council upon women and children, the ministry will uphold the principle that no one should be exempted from punishment.”
Since the 1 February 2021 coup until 31 December 2023, the junta was responsible for the deaths of over 700 women and detained a further 3,200 women, according to the BWU.
