Over a year after the military coup, Myanmar women continue to stand in the frontlines of demonstrations around the country, though the number of public protests has dropped as the pushback has grown more militant.
Reflecting on the public anger expressed since the 1 February 2021 putsch, it is clear from the demonstrations that rolled out around the country that women were just as active as men in voicing their horror at developments.
Women have played their part and added their own twist to the messaging – from young women wearing wedding dresses in a number of rallies early on, to bringing paper flowers, to offering the insult of stringing women’s underwear across streets to ward of the male Myanmar security forces.
Many say the role of Myanmar’s women in the anti-coup movement should be celebrated.
Certain individual women stand out.
In early February 2021, Ei Thinzar Maung, now the current Deputy Minister of Women, Youths and Children Affairs under the National Unity Government (NUG), was one of the leaders of the anti-coup protests in Yangon. In these early protests, half of the participants were women.
Later, when the military forces opened fire to disperse a peaceful anti-coup demonstration for democracy, the first fallen hero in the Spring Revolution was a woman named Mya Thwet Thwet Khaing from Nay Pyi Daw. She was shot in the head on 9 February 2021. She is widely believed to have been targeted because she was wearing a red t-shirt, a symbol colour of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party. She lay in a coma in hospital for 10 days before being taken off life support.
Then there is the sad death of Angel or Kyal Sin. She was a 19-year-old woman from Mandalay who was killed on 3 March 2021 during the protests. Although it is hard to confirm, it looked like she was deliberately targeted by the Myanmar security forces and shot in the head by a sniper.
Angel – with her t-shirt inscribed with “Every thing will be OK” – became a symbol of defiance against the junta, her photo published widely in the media at home and abroad.
Despite the brutal crackdown of the military junta, women stood alongside men in the protests around the country.
Mizzima talked to the family of Yadanar, an alias, who lost her life in the protests. They preferred to remain anonymous due to the danger they face from the authorities.
Yadanar worked in a Yangon bank and since the death of her father at a young age, she had been looking after her three siblings, leading the family.
In the wake of the coup, she took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), participated in the daily strikes, and was in the forefront of the anti-military protests.
Her mother, who has a military background, did not support her participation in the protests, and locked her up in her room to prevent her from joining the crowds. However, she managed to escape to take part.
On 26 March 2021, she was shot dead as the security forces used live bullets to attempt to crush the peaceful protesters.
Yadanar was a good head of the family and also had a role as a leader in the Spring Revolution. Her sister says that she is truly the light for her younger sisters.
Yadanar’s sister told Mizzima she was a good head of the family and played a leading role in the Spring Revolution.
“My sister supported all of the financial needs in my family. Up until I am 20, as we do not have a father, she took care of me as both a father and a mother, and also as a sister. I cannot bear the thought that she is not with me anymore. I used to discuss everything with her including voting for the election,” she said.
She said Yadanar encouraged her to make her own democratic choice in the 2020 election.
In the wake of the coup, Yadanar was adamant that she did not want to be part of the military community anymore, her sister said.
Her mother was devastated by the death of her eldest daughter. Instead of blaming Yadanar for her action and decision, her mother was proud of what her daughter had done for the country.
“In my house, she is the most reliable eldest daughter. She sacrificed her life for democracy. As I am not as educated as she is, I don’t really know. However, now, I accept the path of democracy that she had sacrificed her life for.”
There were many women who sacrificed their lives like Yadanar for the Spring Revolution, standing alongside men in the struggle to root out the military dictatorship.
What is clear, according to local media outlets, is that the junta is deliberately targeting women and children, arresting, committing sexual violence, and abusing and killing them.
“In the history of the Spring Revolution, we must recognize women’s leadership and bravery,” Aung Myo Min, the Minister of Human Rights of the NUG says.
