Myanmar’s Women Resisting Patriarchal Tyranny
“A victory in this revolution is to be brought about not only by dismantling military tyranny but also by eliminating all forms of authoritarianism, including authoritarian behaviors, hypocrites, and actions, alongside the military dictatorship.”
On International Women’s Day (IWD), it is clearer than ever that the brave women of Myanmar choose to resist the patriarchy, refuse to be silenced, and remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice, equality, and accountability. “A victory in this revolution is to be brought about not only by dismantling military tyranny but also by eliminating all forms of authoritarianism, including authoritarian behaviors, hypocrites, and actions, alongside the military dictatorship,” said May, a member of Women Alliance Burma to mark IWD on 8 March 2025. This is the prime time for the international community to support and stand in solidarity with Myanmar’s women.
On International Women’s Day, women have come together, refusing to be silenced. Rising up in Myanmar, groups of women from Kani Township in Sagaing, Launglon Township in Tanintharyi, to Karen and Karenni States and beyond—in Chiang Mai, Thailand—marched through the streets demonstrating their refusal to be silenced, and challenging long-standing patriarchy and injustice. Burmese Women’s Union also marked IWD by organizing an event in which women leaders, youth leaders, and activists came together to participate in a discussion aimed at stopping gender-based violence against women. Meanwhile, Network for Human Rights Documentation—Burma commemorated the day and called for recognition of women’s contributions to the pro-democracy movement.
This day also celebrates the valor of Rohingya women being at the forefront of the fight for justice, with advocates and survivors giving testimonies at the Argentine Court in June 2023 which subsequently led to arrest warrants for 25 Myanmar military leaders and civilian officials. Their courageous contributions towards accountability, breaking a vicious cycle of violence and impunity in the long and challenging pursuit of justice for the Rohingya and the people of Myanmar, must be honored and celebrated.
Whilst remaining resilient and determined, Myanmar women continue to face severe threats and violence at the hands of the military junta. In 2024 alone, a total of 478 women were killed and 412 injured by the junta’s airstrikes, artillery shelling, extrajudicial killing, landmines, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and torture in prison, as reported by Burmese Women’s Union. In the first two months of 2025, the junta killed at least 152 women—86 in January and 66 in February. Among them, most were killed by junta airstrikes and artillery shelling, and followed by landmines and arson. Such appalling figures highlight the severity of atrocities endured by women across Myanmar as the junta continues to perpetrate widespread and systematic crimes. Beyond death, the survivors of junta attacks endure a living hell, frequently forced to flee and subjected to arbitrary arrest and torture.
In Myanmar, women and the LGBTQIA+ community face battles against discrimination and SGBV not only at the hands of the military junta—which is committing these crimes on a massive scale —but also from other armed groups, as well as within their communities, families, and workplaces. A striking example of this struggle can be seen in the experiences of women journalists from Myanmar, particularly those in exile, who face severe gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence—including from senior male colleagues. For instance, a female journalist and her partner—a transgender woman from Ayadaw Township, Sagaing Region—were verbally and physically assaulted by a man named Win Kyaw while writing news at a local internet shop in Sagaing Region.
Where local leadership turns a blind eye on violence against women—allowing this type of attacks to persist and perpetrators to walk free—local women’s rights organizations have mobilized themselves: offering protection, providing psychosocial support, and pursuing justice and accountability. The staunch resistance of Myanmar’s women must be celebrated and their struggle must be supported. As Women’s Peace Network highlighted in their IWD statement, “In Myanmar, women civil society remain the pioneers of the country’s efforts for peacebuilding, transitional justice, ethnic reconciliation, and victim and survivor-centered justice.”
Compelling evidence documented and reported by women’s rights groups detail crimes which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The international community must assist their extensive efforts to pursue justice for victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and CRSV without further delay. Moreover, support must be increased and sustained for women organizations, women human rights defenders (WHRDs), and frontline humanitarians who are providing vital humanitarian services to the vulnerable populations, offering essential psychosocial support and other services to survivors of SGBV and CRSV during these extremely challenging times. Such support for WHRDs must ensure flexible reporting requirements without compromising security or overburdening communities and humanitarian responders with unrealistic demands.
Gender equality and equity are crucial in building a just and accountable society and is a fundamental element of a future democratic Myanmar. With chants of “Our sarong, our flag, our victory,” their fight remains resolute as they challenge society’s deep-rooted, misogynistic, and patriarchal beliefs that regard the Htamian (sarong) as a symbol of lower status or bad luck. If society can let go of this misconception, it will mark the first step towards dismantling gender discrimination. In the words of Nang Moet Moet, General Secretary of the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), “We are not only celebrating the achievements of the women’s movement, but as women from Burma we are challenging patriarchy.”
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[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
၂၀၂၅ ခုနှစ် မတ်လ (၈) ရက်နေ့တွင် ကျရောက်သော “အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ အမျိုးသမီးများနေ့” သဘောထားထုတ်ပြန်ချက်
By 25 Civil Society Organizations
Bangladesh: Rohingya Face Dire Hunger Crisis as Food Aid Slashed
By Burma Human Rights Network
America cuts $1.1 billion for Myanmar, abandoning democracy and rights
By Human Rights Myanmar
By Human Rights Foundation of Monland
Statement Regarding the Increasing Difficulties Faced by Myanmar Refugee Asylum Seekers in India
By India for Myanmar
By India for Myanmar
Thai cyber crime crackdown must target root causes
By Justice For Myanmar
ထိုင်း ဆိုက်ဘာရာဇဝတ်နှိမ်နင်းရေးသည် ပြဿနာရင်းမြစ်များကို ပစ်မှတ်ထားရမည်
By Justice For Myanmar
JFM calls on Switzerland to sanction Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise
By Justice For Myanmar
By Justice For Myanmar
By Justice For Myanmar
By Justice For Myanmar
By Justice For Myanmar
By Justice For Myanmar
By National Unity Government and Ministry of Human Rights
By Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma
Urgent Concern Over the Deportation of the Burmese Migrants to Myanmar
By Stars of Myanmar Friendship Club
For All Myanmar Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment
By United Nations Myanmar
Reports
Journalism and Media Safety in Myanmar
By Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
Who powered the expansion of cyber scams in Myawaddy?
By Justice For Myanmar
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
