Women's rights in Myanmar

Myanmar’s Constitution (Section 347) includes the guarantee of equal rights and equal legal protection to all persons and (Section 348) does not discriminate against any Myanmar citizen on the bases of sex. Myanmar has been an active participant of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Women as well as the ASEAN Commission on Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children in 2010.[2]

However the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) has expressed concern with about women's rights in Myanmar because Myanmar's active participation in advocating for women’s rights has translated to a belief that there is gender equality in the country. But the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar contains references to women mostly as mother which reinforces the stereotype of a woman's role being that of a mother and caretaker in need of protection. The current lack of measures to achieve gender equality in both domestic legislation and the Constitution is of concern to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.[3]

Children at a local school Hsipaw, Shan State in Myanmar.

The equal right to education for men and women is guaranteed by Myanmar’s Constitution. Most females do attend primary school, but there is a reduction seen in the number of girls that continue onto secondary school or university. The literacy rate for adult women is 86% compared to just over 90% for men. Education is co-educational at all levels. Despite the progress, there are continued concerns regarding female retention rates, performance levels and quality and gender sensitivity of education.[1]

There are extreme disparities between urban and rural educational performance. The Shan State region of Myanmar has the lowest female literacy rates at 59.4%.[2] Additionally while a growing proportion of women are pursuing higher education this number does not match the future employment fate of women, where men make the larger proportion of those in the workforce. Moreover, women still do not occupy senior levels of economic decision making, despite their high education.

In 2010, Burmese women’s life expectancy was 69.9 years old. Myanmar has a high mortality rate with 200 deaths per 100,000 live births, however an improvement from the 520 deaths per 100,000 births in 1990. Leading causes of maternal death according to the government’s 2006-2011 National Health Plan are postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia, and complications from unsafe abortions. The majority of maternal deaths occur at home, only 38% of women with labor complications were referred to a hospital in 2010, and only 24% reached the hospital, the other 14% died en route because of delayed referral or transportation delays.[2]

While abortion is illegal in Myanmar, around 10 percent of all maternal deaths are reported to be abortion-related. There is a 20% unmet need for contraception among married women. The lack of sex education across the country results in a high adolescent fertility rate of 16.9%.[4]

Cultural taboos around women’s sexuality in Myanmar prevent open conversation regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights among women in the country. If a woman has experienced sexual assault prior to marriage, it is common that once married, they have little control over sexual relations within the marriage. Moreover, most women who reported incidents of sexual violence entered into marriage under conditions of social or economic vulnerability. This highlights a mentality of male entitlement over their wives’ bodies.[5] In 2013, it is estimated that 69,489 of females in Myanmar had HIV accounting for 34% of the total HIV cases in Myanmar.[2]

A Myanmar Chin State Village Traditional Marriage Ceremony.

Usually Burmese women have the freedom to choose their own husband, despite the continued presence of matchmaking traditions and parental say in the decision that occasionally still occur. Legally one can get married at 20 years of age in Myanmar. In 1973 the average age for a female to marry at was 21.2 years old which increased to 26 years of age in 1997. In Myanmar there is not the practice of having a family name, such as seen in Western cultures.[2]

A woman will retain her own given birth name throughout her life, whether she marries or remains single. Typically we see women are allowed to make decisions regarding their households spendings without permission from their husbands, although males are considered the heads of the household. It is expected that once married a women will have children and infertility can be grounds for divorce.[2]

In respect to the law, a women can jointly or separately hold assets with her husband. In the case of the husband's death the women then inherits the property. In the event of divorce the assets are divided equally unless the women is dependent on her husband, in which case she receives only one-third of the previously joint property. With children in divorce it is typical for the male child to remain with the father and the female child with the mother.

Sexual assault within communities as well as rape by the Burmese military as a weapon of war and genocide all have been reported by Burmese women. Additionally trafficking of women, especially in the border regions of Myanmar, as well as domestic violence and forced sex in marriage are ongoing problems. Within individual families women express concern about the limited role opportunities besides that of servants and child-care provides. Despite legal frameworks, women hold a limited decision-making power within the family.[6]

There is great diversity among the 135 government-recognized ethnic groups in Myanmar, and therefore generalizations may not be applicable to every group. However, there is a consistent trend of abuses suffered by the majority of ethnic women. There are few opportunities for paid labor in rural areas, especially with the common occurrence of displacement that causes people to constantly be moving. As a result, women farmers must meet the needs of their families’ in addition to the demands of the Burmese army for rations, taxes, and labor.

This burden of farmwork and housework causes a severe toll on the health of these women. Moreover, the lack of access to healthcare, widespread malnutrition, and endemic diseases have resulted in high maternal mortality rates in the rural areas, causing an estimated 580 deaths per 100,000 women. In rural area most women do not have access to contraception or other means to control their fertility, resulting in the majority of ethnic women giving birth ten or more times, although often only half of their children live to adulthood.

A 1998 International Labour Organization (ILO) Commission of Inquiry reported that forced labor is most commonly seen in ethnic minority areas. In these areas forced labor is used a means of enforcing the army’s control over local populations. Women are usually the first in the family to engage in unpaid labor in an attempt to allow male family members to seek wage generating employment. Widows however, are especially vulnerable to forced labor as they are usually unable to pay fees that would exempt them from forced labor.

Ethnic women most commonly reside in Myanmar's border areas that are most prone to civil wars and conflict. This results in women being systematically targeted by solides for violence, particularly rape, on the basis of their ethnicity. Consistent accounts report physical and psychological abuse of ethnic women by government soldiers. This violence occurs in the form of beatings, torture, summary executions, rape and other forms of sexual violence. Additionally coerced marriages between ethnic women and soldiers are common in attempting to promote the government’s “Burmanization” program. Reports indicate that taking an ethnic bride may result in the promotion of the soldier in the armed forces.[7]

The 2013 Gender Inequality Index ranked Myanmar 83rd of 187 countries in regards to continuing gender inequalities. The 2012 Social Institutions and Gender Index place the country at 44th of 86 countries and 8th out of the nine countries in East Asia and the Pacific.[4]

Myanmar has multiple institutional mechanisms currently in place that serve to implement the country’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. These include the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and the Department of Social Welfare. They serve as Burmese government’s main channels towards women’s rights.

• Women in Myanmar
• Human rights in Myanmar