1 - Putting Women Up: Promoting Gender Equality in Myanmar Politics

Summary

The coup that overturned Myanmar's elected government in early 2021 clearly upended the roadmap to democracy the country had been following, however haltingly, for over a decade. As of this writing, Myanmar's political future is uncertain; the military (called the Tatmadaw) has shown no sign of relenting in its assault on the prior elected government and the broad resistance the coup triggered. One might question the utility of exploring the status quo ante in light of the desperate situation now. We contend that understanding how, and how well, aspects of democracy worked during Myanmar's ill-fated experiment is, in fact, essential. Not only might we still hope for restoration of civilian, elected government, under the National Unity Government (NUG) currently contesting the military junta or otherwise, but the underlying sociopolitical patterns evident in the recent past, reflecting societal attitudes and priorities, remain germane. Especially salient in this vein are attitudes towards women's leadership: while neither women nor men can currently seek or hold elected office, institutional features alone were hardly the only arbiters of women's political standing when they could do so.

This book investigates the extent to which men and women have faced different opportunities and challenges in securing election, especially as members of parliament (MPs), but also at subnational tiers, in Myanmar, and why. For instance, have the relevant hurdles been more at the local or national level, in society or in political parties, and structured largely by gender or more by class or other attributes? Understanding these patterns is essential to knowing the extent to which a return to civilian government will likely empower women, or what attitudinal changes, beyond structural ones, would be necessary. Moreover, this investigation allows us to consider Myanmar in comparative context, to see how sociopolitical attitudes and constraints here align with those elsewhere in the region, coup aside.

To answer these questions, we set out to examine women's political representation and opportunities to participate in party politics in Myanmar. Our findings are based on a three-year (2017–20) project funded by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) on “Engendering Political Recruitment and Participation at the Party, Local and National Level in Myanmar”.