The Paung Township General Administration Department issued a local order to prevent two men from riding one motorcycle together in Paung Township, Mon State.

The order was issued on 1 October, according to local residents who spoke to the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM).

The order for motorcycle passengers was issued after at least four people, including a junta policemen, junta intelligence officers, informants, and a former militiaman, were shot in Paung Township in September.

According to the new law, two men cannot ride on one motorcycle.

The order also stipulates that a man is not allowed to ride pillion on a motorbike driven by a woman. Women can still ride pillion on a motorcycle driven by a man, and two women can ride a motorcycle together.

"Since the beginning of the month, they have been shouting with loudspeakers in the neighborhoods and villages. It was announced that if two men ride a motorcycle together, action will be taken. It has become difficult for everyone," said a resident of Paung.

Due to the restrictions, the livelihoods of taxi drivers, rubber farmers, and locals who ride motorcycles together and go to work for the day are affected.

"Working as a driver is no longer sustainable. People do not rent very often. It’s difficult for families to make a living because we cannot take men as passengers,” said a motorcycle taxi driver.

Those who fail to comply with the order are often arbitrarily arrested questioned and shot if they don't stop their motorbike when ordered to by the military, according to HURFOM.

Paung Township is the third township in Mon State where men have been forbidden from riding pillion on a motorcycle. Previously, similar orders had already been issued since the coup in Ye, Kyeik Hto, and Bilin townships in Mon State.