Myanmar’s political history is littered with violent military coups. On February 1, 2021, General Min Aung Hlaing took control of Myanmar and transformed the nascent democracy into a violent authoritarian regime. This is the third time that an army has taken control of the country in Burmese history after independence, 59 years later. the first coup d’état led by General Ne Win and 32 years later the second ordered by the SLORC. As much as the country’s history is filled with brutal military regimes, it is also filled with popular revolutions to fight against military rule, the most important being the uprising of 8888, the saffron revolutionand currently the spring revolution.
The Spring Revolution differs from previous revolutions in that it is the most enduring anti-military political movement the country has ever seen. While the 8888 Uprising and the Saffron Revolution lasted only a few months, the Spring Revolution continues to gain momentum in 2024, more than three years after the last coup. Protracted conflict continues across the country. As of April 26, 2024, 4,946 civilians were murdered by the regime, and 26,573 people were arrested. Despite the violent repression, millions of people took to the streets to protest the military’s takeover. The ongoing Spring Revolution encompasses different actors and initiatives, including, but not limited to, the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)frontline protests, the National Unity Government (NUG)and the People’s Defense Force (PDF).
To strengthen cooperation between the different branches of the Spring Revolution, pro-democracy activists are increasingly relying on social networks. For women in particular, social media has become a powerful space to express their political views and organize against the junta. To respond to growing online resistance, the military government established draconian digital repression measures who actively persecute civilians who display support for the opposition online. Online violence against pro-democracy activists often translates into offline violence such as arrests and sexual violence. The digital repression of the Burmese army is very gendered as female activists experience significantly higher rates of gender-based violence and persecution than their male counterparts.
Authoritarian actions and responses to online dissent in Myanmar can be categorized into five categories: Internet shutdowns, online censorship, surveillance, targeted persecution of users online, social media manipulation and disinformation. However, online activists in Myanmar also face specific forms of gender-based violence in addition to these five categories. Here are some examples of such gender-based violence: doxxing, abusive messages containing sexist language, disclosing intimate videos and images without consent, sexualized misinformation, threats of sexual violence, rape threats and death threats. Different forms of sexualized repression have the most traumatic physical and psychological effects, as these repression tactics subject online activists and their families to societal shame. An overwhelming majority of online gender-based violence targeting pro-democracy women is carried out by men.
In Myanmar, women who express their political views on social media are targets of doxxing. a much higher rate than men who are politically active online. Doxxing is particularly a tactic of gendered digital repression in the context of Myanmar, as many female activists who have been doxxed by pro-military and male-identifying figures on social media, such as Han Nyein Oo And Ba Nyunt, were arrested by security forces. This arrest comes with the additional risk of an increase in gender-based violence against women since gang rape of women and girls are systematically employed by the Burmese army.
The gendered nature of digital repression by the Burmese military government is worrying, as online violence against women poses a significant barrier to their meaningful political participation. According to Freedom House 2023 Internet Freedom Report, Myanmar has one of the most digitally repressive regimes in the world, second only to China. Made possible thanks to the political support of Russia And Chinaand equipped with international surveillance technologies, the Burmese regime is committing crimes against humanity targeting individuals who express themselves against the military regime on social networks. Women bear the brunt of this digital repression targeted solely because of their gender.
The case of Myanmar demonstrates how autocrats leverage social media as a political tool not only to react, but also to proactively deter women’s activism online. The online repression tactics employed by the Myanmar military could prompt other authoritarian governments to crack down on feminist dissent in their own countries. This dark potential, if realized, could further roll back women’s rights in different authoritarian regimes at a very alarming rate. It is therefore not enough for the international community to simply condemn gender-based digital repression in Myanmar through statements and press releases. International stakeholders must collaborate with Myanmar civil society to provide women with robust digital security training that will enable them to continue fighting for democracy in safer but more creative and subversive forms of digital activism.
Further Reading on International Electronic Relations
