Mizzima
Myanmar’s women continue to be active in strikes, demonstrations, and projects aimed at getting rid of the military junta, according to a report for 2023 published 9 January by the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU).
The “Women News Analysis Paper January to December 2023” looks at the challenges women faced last year as a result of military junta actions. Women faced threats both in terms of their physical wellbeing and also in terms of economic hardship.
As the paper notes, throughout 2023 it was found that women’s political participation in the form of women’s strikes to topple the junta was not fading away. Women led march-protests were held in 2023 in Launglon township, Dawei district, with the slogan “The pen is mightier than the sword, but the mightiest is the power of women,” organized by the women’s union called the Hnin Si Yaung. Similarly, a women’s group in Sagaing continued to carry out the campaigns in 2023, with the slogan “Red blood of peacocks, Victory banners high! Saviors none we seek, Villagers folks as we are! Golden Yekyi will unfurl the flag of victory, too! Our fervor shall never die. We of the golden bloodline!”
In addition, women actively participated in the fight against the junta, some demonstrating their determination by taking up arms.
Notably, Chin women fighters in the Chin National Defense Force (CNDF) courageously fought on the front lines, while women affiliated with the Mandalay People Defense Force (PDF Mandalay) played a vital part in the revolution, rallying the public to seize the territory. Media coverage has helped publicize stories of women taking up weapons to fight.
In 2023, various organizations, including women-led groups in Myanmar and independent entities, actively participated in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (GBV). This initiative witnessed the active engagement of IDPs. The Kachin Gender Star Group (KGSG), for instance, conducted events near Mai Ja Yang in Kachin State, involving 300 IDP women across four different locations. Approximately 200 migrant workers joined the 16-day campaign in Mae Sot, Thailand. Simultaneously, women’s alliance groups organized a protest participating in the 16-day Campaign in Yinmarbin township, Sagaing Region.
As the paper makes clear, safety and security for women in Myanmar deteriorated significantly in 2023, as demonstrated by widespread human rights violations (HRVs), particularly instances of sexual harassment and assault across the country. Among the various forms of abuse documented, sexual harassment and assault against women emerged as a disturbingly prevalent and persistent issue. It was reported that those responsible for such acts included not only members of the junta but also members of the revolutionary forces who engaged in sexual harassment and assault against women during the conflict.
Numerous cases also emerged in which women were detained, reportedly for political reasons, and according to the data released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the BWU’s data collection, the junta detained 541 women between 1 January and 31 December 2023. The majority of these women were accused of disseminating false information on social media. Some were detained allegedly having communication or in contact with the National Unity Government (NUG), revolutionary groups, and other resistance armed forces. Notably, the majority of women arrested in 2023 were from the Mandalay Region.
Within a timeframe of one year, from 1 January to 31 December 2023, a total of 392 women were brutally killed while 318 women were detained. The circumstances surrounding the fatalities varied with 130 women killed by airstrikes, 147 killed by artillery shelling, one killed by a bomb explosion, 20 during arrests or while in custody, another one killed by landmine, one was subjected to harsh treatments or torture by the terrorist military, 35 were burned, 3 were raped and killed, 47 were shot dead, and five were killed by headshots. The majority of those sentenced and killed were from the Sagaing Region.
According to the information that the BWU gathered, the health, physical, and mental well-being of women political prisoners currently detained was at a critical stage, with the added hardship of insufficient access to essential healthcare services in the prisons they are held.
The paper also covers the economic hardships that women face, and the specific challenges faced in conflict zones and in internally displaced people’s camps. The full report is available from the BWU.
