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| Myanmar | |
 Flag of Myanmar | |
| Population (in Mil.) | 47,4 |
 Sex Ratio (m/f)
| 0,97 |
 Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)
| 1,10 |
 Fertility Rate
| 2.3 |
 Income Ratio (f/m)
| n/a |
 Literacy Ratio (f/m)
| 0,92 |
 Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)
| 1,77 |
 Women in Parliament (in %)
| n/a |
| SIGI Rank | 41 |
| Source: GID Data Base (2008) More information on variables | |
| Did you know that Myanmar ranks number 41 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Myanmar" at genderindex.org: | |
Myanmar is a multicultural society made up of 135 national races, with Bamar, Chin, Kachin,Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan being the major races. The right to equality of women is safeguarded in national legislation, as well as in traditions and dhammathats, i.e. customary laws. Still, there is a gender-based division of labour and women, in addition to performing 80 percent of all agricultural labour, carry the main burden of household work.
About 90 percent of the population are Buddhists, with the main branch being Theravada.
Contents |
Family Code
Increased education and labour force participation of women has contributed to increasing ages at first marriage. While the legal age of marriage set forth in the Myanmar Customary Law is 20 years for women (and at puberty for men), the Buddhist Women Special Marriage and Succession Act of 1954 allows Buddhist girls above 14 years to marry non-Buddhist men with parental consent (CEDAW, 2007). The UN (2004) estimates that 11 percent of Burmese girls between 15 and 19 years of age are married, divorced or widowed. All marriages shall be based on mutual consent. It can be noted that the cohabitation of a Burmese Buddhist man and woman (with the intention of becoming husband and wife), is enough for them to be considered a married couple before the law. The practice of polygamy, however permitted under Myanmar Customary Law, is not socially favoured or very popular. In any case, it is required that the second wife is given an equal social status with the first wife (Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation). With regards to parental authority, the father is perceived as the head of the household and as such it is his duty to provide subsistence for his wife and children. The mother, in turn, carries out the majority of household-related work, including child-rearing. She is sometimes in control of household finances. In the event of divorce, it is not uncommon that boys are awarded to the father and girls to the mother but the children themselves may be consulted in this respect. Very young children, regardless of sex, are usually placed in their mother’s care (CEDAW, 1999). The ancient dhammathats and the present-day Myanmar Customary Law both give men and women equal rights to inheritance. There is no discrimination between men and women, husbands and wives, widows and widowers, sons and daughters or grandsons and granddaughters. The variation in inheritance right is based only on the degree of relationship with the deceased and the general order of succession more or less goes down in descending order (Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation). However, as Customary Law does not recognize a will, any joint property of a couple will go the surviving spouse (CEDAW, 1999).
Physical Integrity
Most violence against women is closely linked to the country’s national instability and includes political imprisonment, forced labour and systematic sexual abuse of minority women by armed forces. A culture of impunity within the armed forces contributes to the military atmosphere in which rape is permissible. Due to this well-known impunity, victims and their families are often reluctant to turn to the authorities for help (UNESCO Bangkok). The government does not maintain statistics related to domestic violence, making its prevalence difficult to judge. There is no specific law against domestic violence, but as married women often live in households with extended families, social pressure to some extent protects them from spousal abuse. Conjugal rape is not considered a crime unless the wife is younger than 14 years.
Civil Liberties
With regards to freedom of movement, an ordinary citizen needs three documents to travel outside the country: a passport from the Ministry of Home Affairs, a revenue clearance from the Ministry of Finance and Revenue, and a departure form from the Ministry of Immigration and Population. To address the problem of trafficking in persons, the government frequently hinders or restricts international travel for young women. The government also controls the movement of all Muslim Rohingyas (men and women), who are not considered to be citizens (U.S. Department of State, 2007). Women enjoy freedom of dress, but are required to wear decent apparel in pagodas and monasteries.
Ownership Rights
Myanmar Buddhist women have the same legal rights to own property, including land, as do men. In marriage, a husband and wife are considered co-owners under the following rules: either spouse is entitled to one third of the property owned by the other spouse before the wedding (paryin), and one half of the property accumulated or increased during the marriage (lathtatpwar), property given to the couple at their wedding (khanwin) and property that has been earned through work of both spouses (hnaparson). Women and men have equal legal rights to apply for bank loans and other types of contracts. One initiative specifically targeting women is the micro credit scheme operated by the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation. In 2006, the MWAF provided temporary loans of 72.4 million kyats to a total of 8 608 women. The Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association provided loans totaling close to 180 million kyats to over 45 000 women with a desire to manage small-scale businesses or breed livestock (CEDAW, 2007).
Sources
- CEDAW (2007), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, combined second and third periodic reports of States parties, Myanmar, CEDAW/C/MMR/3.
- CEDAW (1999), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, initial report of States parties, Myanmar, CEDAW/C/MMR/1.
- Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation (MWAF), Rights of Myanmar Women Endowed by Myanmar Customs and Traditions, available at http://www.mwaf.org.mm.
- OECD (2006), The Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base, www.oecd.org/dev/gender/gid.
- UNESCO Bangkok, Myanmar Country Profile, country specific ARSH information (chapter 5), www.unescobkk.org.
- United Nations (2004), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Fertility Report, New York.
- U.S. Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006: Burma.
