Myanmar

Conflict has created a humanitarian crisis that disproportionately affects women, with 7.1 million women in need of aid. Entrenched patriarchal norms, long-standing militarization, and religious and ethno-nationalist extremism fuel violence against women by the junta, resistance groups, and even opportunistic civilians. For decades, the junta has perpetrated widespread sexual violence against women, men, girls, boys, and LGBTQ+ individuals during combat, village raids, detention, and at military checkpoints. The junta’s policy of forced conscription also causes women to fight, flee, or lose vital income as relatives are drafted. Meanwhile, Myanmar is the world’s leading hub for organized crime, exposing women and girls to trafficking, forced labor, and sexual exploitation. While domestic rule of law has been undermined by the junta, some international accountability efforts continue, such as an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for junta leader Min Aung Hlaing for alleged crimes against the Rohingya, including weaponized sexual violence. Women are also agents of resistance and inclusive recovery: women have advanced a nine-point political declaration for feminist federalism and ethnic diversity in the future federal democratic union of Myanmar, while others lead grassroots initiatives, serve in combat roles within the People’s Defense Forces, and provide logistical support to resistance efforts. 

The military junta’s push to hold elections in December 2025 and continued jockeying for territorial control are poised to escalate fighting in the coming months, putting women at heightened risk of violence, displacement, disrupted healthcare, and economic insecurity. The junta may also try to use elections to legitimize its power, threatening to prolong conflict and repression. Cuts in international aid compound these dangers, as development assistance to Myanmar has fallen by 61 percent since 2020, with less than 1 percent of aid going to women’s rights groups. Nevertheless, women’s civil society organizations continue to provide life-saving services and advocate for human rights, often at great personal risk and despite dwindling resources.

The military-backed junta’s planned general elections on December 28, 2025 and January 11, 2026 are widely viewed as a “bid to disguise authoritarian control as democratic process” and create an “illusion of legitimacy.” Since the 2021 coup, nearly 30,000 activists and civilians have been arrested, including 6,190 women, and between November 2 and 14 authorities charged 31 additional people under the Election Protection Law—many for allegedly damaging campaign posters—further shrinking civic space and limiting women’s ability to participate safely in political processes. More than half of townships remain excluded from voter rolls, compounding risks and cutting women in contested regions off from political representation amid ongoing displacement, insecurity, and repression.

Civilian safety continues to deteriorate as daily artillery fire, airstrikes, and clashes between the military and resistance forces drive casualties and displacement across multiple states. Nearly 3.6 million people are internally displaced as of November 2025, with renewed fighting in recent weeks forcing additional families to flee and overwhelming already-limited protection services. These conditions severely restrict women’s safe movement, reduce access to health and protection services, and increase exposure to harassment, violence, and exploitation during flight and displacement.

Over 16 million people across Myanmar are now acutely food insecure; in central Rakhine State, more than 50 percent of families report being unable to meet basic food needs, up from 33 percent in December 2024. A community feedback mechanism brought attention to harmful coping strategies, including mothers skipping meals to feed their children, families accruing debt, and children dropping out of school. Despite these needs, the 2025 humanitarian response plan in Myanmar remains only 15 percent funded.

Myanmar’s worsening education and employment crisis is pushing a generation of young women to the margins. A recent UNDP report finds that nearly one in four young women leave school due to caregiving duties, and that women are three times more likely than men to not be in education, employment, or training—with rates of disengagement highest in conflict-affected regions. These intersecting gender, economic, and conflict pressures heighten risks of exploitation and early marriage, eroding women’s participation and prospects for peace.

Myanmar’s diverse women’s organizations continue to lead the country’s pro-democracy movement. In October, the Women’s League of Burma organized the Fourth Women’s Political Forum, bringing together over 100 participants to examine “gender-inclusive approaches to bottom-up federalism” and discuss policy interventions aimed at advancing women’s meaningful participation in political leadership across all branches of government.

The Myanmar Humanitarian Country Team is advancing a locally driven coordination reform, using input from over 250 Myanmar-based organizations to streamline decision-making and shift greater authority to frontline responders. This presents a critical opportunity to elevate women-led groups—who provide essential protection, health, and gender-based violence services—and ensure that humanitarian priorities directly reflect the needs of conflict-affected women and girls. Upcoming coordination workshops must shape concrete steps toward a more inclusive and community-centered aid system.