activist with severe disabilities, could not have been imprisoned without significant public
outcry. Shortly after taking part in public protests against the government in January 2015,
she received a letter informing her that her state-owned apartment was being requisitioned
for a more “needy” family, and she was required to vacate immediately, without alternative
accommodation.
Women’s experience of violence is exacerbated by the reaction of their families and society
at large. According to the participants, women and their morality in particular are treated as
areas for public concern and, as such, family and society often participate in violence. In
the case of the Letpadan student protests in February 2015, women were “publicly
humiliated by the police” by being forced to take pregnancy tests. The participants believed
this was done purposefully in order to ensure that families nationwide were more likely to
censor and control women participating in protests, so as to avoid more widespread
ramifications. As a result, women are less likely to speak out or participate in further
protests. In another case raised by the participants, women protesters who were arrested in
Matupi Township in June 2014 for peacefully calling for an investigation into a series of
alleged rapes of six women in the area were blamed by their families and village elders who
said, “These women have dug their own grave. The protest didn’t bring them anything
except trouble.” 203
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ARTICLE 19 - Censored gender: Women’s right to freedom of expression and information in Myanmar - Page 75