A/HRC/56/CRP.8 to sticks for use as flags. Protestors also hung bras, women’s undergarments, and sanitary pads in the streets and used these items in other ways for protest, including by affixing stained red sanitary pads to photos of the coup leader Min Aung Hlaing. Some male protestors demonstrated their opposition to the patriarchal belief by freely passing under the htamein barricades attached to ropes above their heads. Others wrapped htamein around their heads and posted photos on social media. 189. In many instances, military forces reportedly refused to pass under the barricades, stopping to take down and, in some cases, burn the htamein. Protesters reportedly evaded arrest when security forces refused to pass under clotheslines of garments.88 On 9 March 2021, the junta-run Myanmar News Agency announced that SAC authorities would take action against those who take part in the practice, claiming that “people hanging women’s clothes and sanitary products on the road while they are protesting…such doings are deliberate acts to disrespect monks and tarnish Sasana,” the teachings of Buddha.89 In a speech recorded in the junta-run media outlet, Min Aung Hlaing derided protesters’ “indecent clothing” as being “contrary to Myanmar culture.”90 190. After the coup, women played a significant role in breaking down the military’s control of its soldiers’ access to information, while facilitating defections. Wives of soldiers started sharing information about military atrocities with their husbands, some of whom were not aware of the military’s widespread violence against peaceful protestors. Ma Su Thit, whose husband had been a captain in the army, started an organization called Spouses of People’s Soldiers, which supported women married to soldiers, encouraging them to urge their husbands to defect while helping to provide safe passage and assistance for defectors and their families. 191. Despite their courage, the hypervisibility of women and LGBT people and their flaunting of discriminatory beliefs and practices as a demonstration tactic increased security risks for these communities. The LGBT community’s fierce, proud, and open participation in protests made them targets of security forces. Many subsequently took on less visible roles within the movement due to the fear of retaliation. Women and LGBT people at times also faced pushback from other protesters. Male protestors have reportedly made misogynistic comments towards female protestors and in some cases even threatened sexual violence. Some demonstrators held placards that compared Min Aung Hlaing to women’s genitals. Human rights groups have reported that some protestors shouted exclusionary and homophobic sentiments towards LGBT protestors. 192. In defiance of traditional gender norms, thousands of women have joined armed resistance groups and undergone combat training since the coup. They have joined newly established people’s defense forces and existing ethnic resistance organizations, some of which have trained and included women in their ranks for decades prior to the military takeover in 2021. Women who have joined revolutionary groups were previously university students, teachers, doctors, nurses, and farmers, among other professions. Most never imagined the possibility of training for combat but were moved to take up arms after they personally experienced the impacts of the coup, conflict, and displacement. 88 89 90 42 “With htamein barricades and flags, protesters launch a revolution within a revolution,” Frontier Myanmar, 10 March 2021, https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/with-htamein-barricades-and-flagsprotesters-launch-a-revolution-within-a-revolution/. Myanmar News Agency, “Actions to be taken when people attempt to tarnish Sasana,” Global New Light of Myanmar, 9 March 2021, https://www.gnlm.com.mm/actions-to-be-taken-when-peopleattempt-to-tarnish-sasana/. Hannah Beech, “‘She Is a Hero’: In Myanmar’s Protests, Women Are on the Front Lines,” New York Times, 14 March 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/world/asia/myanmar-protestswomen.html.