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A/HRC/56/CRP.8 article’s ambiguous language.37 The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar and the Independent Investigative Mission for Myanmar have found that military personnel have enjoyed a longstanding and pervasive climate of impunity for their crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence.38 48. There are limited protections related to sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar domestic law. The Penal Code prohibits rape and other forms of sexual assault, but the definition of rape is vague and fails to meet international standards. The Penal Code does not criminalize rape in marriage. It prohibits the trafficking of women into Myanmar for the purposes of sexual exploitation, but the provision only applies to women under the age of 21. 49. A package of four discriminatory “race and religion” laws backed by extreme Buddhist nationalist groups was passed in 2015. These laws targeted minority groups, and particularly Muslim populations, but also severely restricted the rights of women.39 The Population Control Healthcare Bill allows local authorities to implement a “birth spacing” policy with a 36-month interval between children in areas of high population growth, infringing on women’s right to privacy and to choose when to have children.40 The Buddhist Women’s Special Marriage Bill regulates the marriage of Buddhist women to men of other religions. It requires women under 20 to obtain parental consent to marry a non-Buddhist and permits a couple’s application for marriage to be publicly displayed for 14 days and for any objections to the marriage to be heard in a local court. The law also prohibits the nonBuddhist husband from “destroy[ing] or damag[ing] or defil[ing] the place of worship… with the intention to insult the Buddhism… [and] insult the religious faith of the Myanmar Buddhist woman in words, writing, distinct posture, gesture or manner.” 41There is no similar provision for the wife or other interfaith marriages. The law reinforces gender stereotypes of the vulnerability of Buddhist women and discriminatory stereotypes of non-Buddhist men. 37 38 39 40 41 14 International Center for Transitional Justice, “Impunity Prolonged: Burma and its 2008 Constitution,” p. 37, https://www.ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-Myanmar-Impunity-Constitution-2009English.pdf; International Center for Transitional Justice, Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, 2 July 2010, p. 3, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/libdocs/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session10/MM/ICTJ_InternationalCenterforTransitionalJustice_eng .pdf; Congressional Research Service, Burma Military Blocks Constitutional Amendments, 30 March 2020, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11481. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts, UN Doc. A/HRC/42/CRP.4, 22 August 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFMMyanmar/sexualviolence/A_HRC_CRP_4.pdf; Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, Efforts to Investigate and Punish Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes Committed Against Rohingya: Evidence Analysis, 27 March 2024, https://iimm.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SGBCReport_EN.pdf. See, UN Special Procedures, Communication to the Government of Myanmar, 11 May 2015, MMR 5/2015, https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=20241; Amnesty International and International Commission of Jurists, “Myanmar: Parliament must reject discriminatory ‘race and religion’ laws,” 3 March 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa16/1107/2015/en/. Population Control Healthcare Law, The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law 28/2015, http://www.asianlii.org/mm/legis/laws/pchl2015h592.pdf; Human Rights Watch, “Burma: Reject Discriminatory Population Bill,” 16 May 2015, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/05/16/burma-rejectdiscriminatory-population-bill. The Myanmar Buddhist Women’s Special Marriage Law, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 50, 2015, https://www.mlis.gov.mm/mLsView.do;jsessionid=FB6E3259445757BAA9A6058533382027?lawor dSn=9593.

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Courage amid crisis: gendered impacts of the coup and the pursuit of gender equality in Myanmar

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Date Published: Jul 1, 2024

Abstract: The 1 February 2021 military coup precipitated an unprecedented human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Armed conflict, displacement, economic collapse, hunger, and the junta’s gross human rights violations threaten the lives and well-being of people in every corner of the country. Women, girls, and LGBT people are severely and uniquely impacted by this crisis, yet these impacts are all too often obscured and ignored by the international community. This conference room paper seeks to shed light on the gendered impacts of the coup and the Myanmar military junta’s gross human rights violations. It has been made possible by the guidance, testimony, and insights of those who are working courageously and tenaciously to address these challenges. They have made it clear that while women and LGBT people have suffered enormously, they are playing a critical role as human rights defenders and leaders in the resistance movement. The threat of sexual and gender-based violence is a dark shadow that follows women, girls, and LGBT people throughout Myanmar. Junta forces have committed widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence, often characterized by the utmost cruelty and dehumanization. Members of resistance forces have also been responsible for abuses against women, girls, and LGBT people. Accountability for sexual and gender-based violence is extremely rare, and survivors struggle to access the support they need. Displacement, financial distress, and the lack of access to education and health care have caused many women and girls to adopt negative coping strategies, increasing their vulnerability to violence, human trafficking, early or forced marriage, and sexual exploitation. Rohingya women, girls, and LGBT people face heightened risks rooted in the systematic denial of citizenship and basic human rights.

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Courage amid crisis: gendered impacts of the coup and the pursuit of gender equality in Myanmar

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