The Enlistment of Women

It has now been over four years since the military junta attempted a coup. During this time, there has been widespread resistance and stark opposition to the regime’s brutality. Despite the fact that the coup was unlawful, even according to the military-drafted constitution, the junta has continued to violate international norms and principles by launching violent attacks against the opposition. Ethnic communities, in particular, have been terrorized by the junta’s relentless gunfire in their villages and temporary shelters, even in the absence of armed actors.

More than 3.5 million people have been displaced since the failed coup. Children are being denied safe pathways to education, as schools are routinely bombed in aerial raids and bombardments. Families are struggling to find work to sustain their livelihoods due to the presence of military soldiers and landmines surrounding their homes and farms.

With dwindling access to food due to inflation and a lack of work opportunities, many who have been displaced have resorted to foraging and relying on local vegetation for sustenance.

The attacks by the Burmese Army are increasing as local people are being accused of harbouring soldiers from the armed resistance. Military checkpoints are also being frequently expanded and established in various parts of the country, especially along popular routes, where individuals are questioned, extorted, and often disappear.

Many of the men and women who are stopped and interrogated find themselves being forcibly enlisted as part of the junta’s unlawful conscription efforts.

The People’s Military Service Law mandates conscription but had not been enforced for over a decade. However, last year, the junta began implementing it for the first time since it was passed, requiring men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to enlist.

The timing of its enactment is indicative of the junta’s desperation amid its increasing losses on the battlefield. Reports from the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), suggest that conscripted individuals, often youths, are deployed to front-line battles and forced to fight under the threat of violence.2 Though the law has now been in effect for over a year, regulations of the People’s Military Service Law were only recently passed in January2025, with several updates made.

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