particularly impacting the Muslim community. The research and other reports have
identified disturbing patterns of anti-Muslim “hate speech” on social media in
particular. Yet ICTs also have the potential to improve the situation of some groups at
risk, such as people living with disabilities, by providing them with services or income
generation opportunities from which they were previously excluded. There are also
more female than male graduates in ICT related study, opening potential new areas of
employment for women.
Issues on the horizon
With little to no in-country manufacturing, and a desire for even the most basic, secondhand phones, problems seen in other countries with e-waste or environmental pollution
have yet to emerge in Myanmar. They will doubtless do so in time. Due to the absence of
manufacturing, the SWIA does not cover “conflict minerals” such as gold, tin, tungsten and
tantalum, although the first three are all produced in Myanmar. Research on how these
minerals are being produced and sold and their relation to on-going conflicts in the country
would be a useful topic for further investigation.
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Exec
Summ