Gender as a Battleground in Post-Coup Myanmar: Six Studies
In post-coup Myanmar, gender is a battleground—and digital space is one of its fiercest fronts. Women and gender-diverse people have been central to resisting the military regime, as protesters, journalists, and organizers. That visibility has made them prime targets for online harassment and disinformation campaigns designed to discredit, silence, and isolate them.
Six studies in our Myanmar Digital Research series centre these gendered dynamics. Driven by emerging Myanmar researchers, this research tackles various dimensions of digital harm, from disinformation and harassment to surveillance. They also offer strong recommendations, both to protect those most at risk and to help people reclaim digital space as they fight for a better future.
The SecDev Foundation produced this research series alongside Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar, supported by International Development Research Centre and Global Affairs Canada.
Get details below or watch this overview of gender as a battleground in Myanmar:
Six studies: gendered threats, concrete responses
Crisis Under the Coup: Gender-Based Violence Against Media Professionals
Drawing on the experiences of women journalists in exile, this report documents how the 2021 coup intensified gender-based violence. These professionals face harassment, surveillance, and targeted intimidation both online and offline. For many, fleeing the country did not end the threats—digital repression followed them across borders.
Led by Myanmar Women in Media, this study advocates for tailored protections for women journalists, cross-border support systems, and recognition of exiled media workers as essential to Myanmar’s information ecosystem.
Militarized Masculinity: Gender Narratives Among Armed Resistance Groups
This study investigates how armed resistance groups construct and circulate gender narratives online—especially those that glorify militarized masculinity. It reveals how even within movements opposing the regime, patriarchal norms are reinforced and women’s or queer perspectives sidelined. The digital expression of resistance is still shaped by gender hierarchies.
Authors Kyal Sin Thukha and Zin Mar Phyo challenge civil society and resistance actors to reflect on their internal gender dynamics and support narratives that elevate diverse voices in the struggle for democracy.
Not Your Body, Not Your Business: Decoding Efforts to Address Non-Consensual Pornography
This study exposes how intimate images—real or fake—are distributed online to shame, punish, and silence women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Perpetrators operate with impunity, while victims face stigma, self-censorship, and sometimes offline threats. The platforms most frequently used, especially Facebook, provide inadequate tools for recourse or justice.
This report was authored by four Myanmar citizens, all under 35, using pseudonyms. They call for improved platform accountability, stronger legal protections, and survivor-centered support systems that recognize the specific dynamics of non-consensual image abuse.
Listen to a podcast featuring one of the authors, “Yin Maung,” on non-consensual porn
Dangerous Channels: Online Misinformation in Post-Coup Myanmar
While this study is not exclusively focused on gender, it highlights how misinformation disproportionately affects women and marginalized groups. Women are especially targeted for doxing—having their personal information exposed online—with the aim of intimidating, shaming, or silencing them.
Led by Intellectum Research Consortium, this report calls for a stronger misinformation response from platforms, support for independent fact-checking, and deeper gender sensitivity in information policy and response mechanisms.
Targeted Identities: Online Harassment of LGBTQ Individuals
This report focuses on the online abuse faced by LGBTQ+ people in Myanmar. Harassment includes threats, outing, and defamatory attacks designed to reinforce social exclusion. The study shows how online spaces reproduce and amplify homophobia and transphobia, often with consequences that extend into physical danger and isolation.
Author Thein Dollar recommends digital safety training, legal reform to protect LGBTQ+ rights, and more visible platform responses to identity-based hate speech.
Debunking Myths: Counter-Narratives in the Fight Against Gender-Based Violence
This study explores the power of counter-narratives in pushing back against gendered disinformation and social control. It examines how feminist activists and gender justice advocates work to dismantle harmful myths—often at great personal risk. The report shows how digital activism, even when embattled, is a crucial tool for social change.
Authors Hsu Myat Yadanar Thein, Than Tun, and Yay Chann urge investment in grassroots campaigns, feminist media, and safe digital spaces where these counter-narratives can reach wider audiences.
Gender, power and paths forward for Myanmar
These six studies make one truth impossible to ignore: digital harm in Myanmar is often gendered by design, not by accident. From intimate image abuse to militarized online culture, women and LGBTQ+ people face attack precisely because of who they are and what they represent.
Protecting digital rights in Myanmar requires more than infrastructure or access. It demands a commitment to gender justice, safety, and visibility for those most at risk.
But this research series isn’t just about documenting harm. It’s about building the future. These six studies were led by a growing cohort of mostly young, emerging Myanmar researchers—many of them women—who are shaping the digital rights landscape from the ground up. Supporting them is an investment in the country’s long-term resilience and democratic potential.
Their work points the way forward. Now it’s up to the international community—platforms, policymakers, and civil society—to act on what they’re showing us.
