A/HRC/56/CRP.8 mannerisms outside of traditional gender norms, particularly transgender individuals, are often targeted for abuse and harassment.26 41. Traditional notions regarding women’s spiritual subordination and inferiority to men are compounded by certain beliefs that female bodies are intrinsically impure, as manifested by menstruation and childbirth, and are thus hazardous to men’s hpon. It is expected that women protect and sustain men’s hpon, including by ensuring they do not “pollute” or diminish men’s hpon with their behavior or bodies.27 For instance, traditionally, women are expected to wash and hang their garments separately from men’s garments; a woman should only sleep on the left side of her husband as hpon resides on his right side; wives often walk behind their husbands in public. These beliefs that women’s bodies are impure and a threat to men’s power appear to be pervasive across dominant religious and cultural traditions in Myanmar. Women have been restricted from entering spaces in places of worship and holy sites, prevented from touching religious objects while menstruating, and prevented from holding high religious positions. 42. These discriminatory beliefs directly influence pervasive gendered roles and patriarchal hierarchies in Myanmar society. There is a famous Myanmar proverb that says, ‘The husband is God, the son is master.’28 Men are believed to be naturally endowed with glory and power, granting them the role of household head, primary breadwinner, and leaders in their communities. Women are often confined to the household as mothers and wives, constraining their ability to enter leadership roles outside the domestic sphere and leaving them dependent on and deferential to men in their day-to-day lives.29 Women are often expected to embody yin kyae hmu, which translates to “politeness” or “gentleness,” rather than show assertiveness or leadership ability. Women are often seen as wives, mothers, and daughters in need of male protection. Many women are given the burden and responsibility of maintaining and protecting cultural lineage through their role in reproduction. They are often reproached if they are considered to be failing to preserve their family’s cultural lineage. Such hierarchies and cultural norms have long contributed to gendered issues in Myanmar, including the prevalence of domestic violence, forced marriage, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence. 43. Gender norms affect children as well, particularly as they near puberty. Girls start performing gendered roles in the household at an early age, including by taking care of children and household chores. Even at a young age, these familial expectations cause girls to be more disadvantaged than their male siblings. Girls are expected to be obedient to parents and to be the caregivers of aging parents and other relatives as they grow older. Sons often receive preference over daughters. Education for boys is generally prioritized, particularly in households with financial challenges, further cementing girls’ restricted role within the household and precluding opportunities for mobility. In some ethnic customary practices, women and girls do not have the right to own land in cases of divorce. In cases of a deceased 26 27 28 29 12 Colors Rainbow, “Facing 377: Discrimination and Human Rights Abuses against Transgender, Gay and Bisexual Men in Myanmar,” https://www.colorsrainbow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Facing377-English.pdf. Jane M. Ferguson, “Gender and Social Change in Myanmar,” Journal of Burma Studies, June 2023, https://www.academia.edu/100484424/Gender_and_Social_Change_in_Myanmar. Gender Equality Network, “Raising the Curtain: Cultural Norms, Social Practices and Gender Equality in Myanmar,” November 2015, https://www.genmyanmar.org/research_and_publications?year=2015. Women’s League of Burma, “Long Way to Go: Continuing Violations of Human Rights and Discrimination Against Ethnic Women in Burma,” July 2016, https://www.womenofburma.org/sites/default/files/2018-06/2016July_CEDAW_Long%20Way%20To%20Go%20-%20English.pdf.