[Working Paper] Issues and Opportunities for Young Women’s Empowerment in Myanmar

Introduction

Myanmar is currently undergoing a democratic transition. Historically, women's participation in politics has been weak in Myanmar. Since independence, only a limited number of women have assumed decision-making and leadership roles. The dominance of the military in politics explains why Myanmar's political landscape is so heavily male-dominated. Gender stereotypes are deeply embedded culturally, and the majority of the population, including women themselves, accept these culturally dictated gender roles. According to the 2014 Myanmar census, women constitute over 51% of the population in Myanmar, and over 52% of the working-age population are women. However, approximately 50% of women in this group are unemployed.

As a training and research institute, Sandhi Governance Institute aims to understand the realities of women in the community, such as the current economic and social situations of young women, the relationships between education levels and social standards, as well as economic opportunities in different regions of the country. In other words, Sandhi is exploring issues and opportunities for the empowerment of young women (between the ages of 18 and 35) who are potential leaders in both the political and development sectors of the country. Therefore, research on issues and opportunities for young women's empowerment was conducted by the training participants of Sandhi's women's leadership training program for young women (aged 18 to 35). These participants, who come from political parties and civil society organizations, sought through this research to understand the circumstances of young women in their respective places of origin. In assessing the current situation, participants also looked for ways in which young women in these communities can be effectively empowered, either by themselves or by local and international organizations, as well as the government. This empowerment will contribute to the economic development of Myanmar during its transition to democracy. It is expected that this report, which reviews the findings on the current situations of young women in Myanmar and offers recommendations for their empowerment, can be instrumental for policymakers as well as international and local organizations interested in providing effective and substantive support to empower young women in Myanmar.

Author

Sandhi Governance Institute was founded by two public policy graduates in 2007 and was registered as a private consultancy firm in 2008. Since that time, it has been conducting various trainings on development, governance, public policy, and politics. Additionally, it carries out research on youth and employment opportunities, political parties, and civil society.