Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“In September, the junta that has ruled Myanmar since a 2021 coup began to draft young women into the army. That may seem like an embrace of equality. It is not. The military top brass still reflects deep patriarchal traditions. The coup leader has criticized women for wearing pants during past protests for democracy. Women account for nearly 1 in 5 of those killed by the junta since the coup. About a fifth of political dissidents in detention are women, notably Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose elected government was overthrown nearly four years ago. The military is drafting women out of desperation for new soldiers. Young men are fleeing a widening net of forced conscription, or soldiers are defecting from the ranks. One reason: The civil war is slowly being won by armed militias of a pro-democracy coalition formed after the coup.” (09/27/24)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/0927/Equality-as-birthright-in-Myanmar