Women and Myanmar's “Religious Protection Laws”

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Notes

1. Presumably she used the word “Bengali” rather than “Rohingya,” as most of the population in Myanmar objects to the use of the term “Rohingya.” “Bengali” (the use of which implies non-indigenous non-nationals) has even been used in official government publications, such as the reports by the Inquiry Commission on Sectarian Violence in Rakhine State, which can be found at http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs15/Rakhine_Commission_Report-en-red.pdf. Accessed July 5, 2015.

2. The full text of their analysis can be found at: http://icj.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Myanmar-Reject-discriminatory-race-and-religion-draft-laws-Advocacy-2015-ENG.pdf. Accessed July 4, 2015.

3. While they have been developed in multiple media outlets, all three arguments, along with others, are explained in detail in Beauchamp 2013.

4. While it is indeed the case that women's marriage habits in this era became a cause for concern, there were no laws passed to restrict women's freedom to marry European, or other foreign men. While this was often frowned upon, it could also be understood as a means of improving one's economic situation, albeit usually temporarily and only with regard to Europeans (Ikeya 2011).

5. One notable exception to this was the study groups organized by Ledi Sayadaw, which opened up remarkable avenues for women to achieve social standing through activities such as the memorization and recitation of texts (Braun 2013).

6. Kawanami's work suggests that those women who do enter the monastery may themselves view it this way, but prestige requires social recognition, and evidence suggests that social perceptions of thilashin are relatively negative or ambivalent, except in exceptional cases where the nun is either especially well-educated or from a wealthy family—both situations that conflate modes of prestige.

7. One of the accused later committed suicide in jail and the other two face the death penalty.

8. The interviews cited in this section are all pseudonymous to protect sources.

9. Personal interview by one of the authors; Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. January 30, 2015.

10. Personal interview by one of the authors; Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar; January 30, 2015.

11. Personal interview by one of the authors; Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar; January 30, 2015.

12. Personal interview by one of the authors; Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar; January 30, 2015.

13. Personal interview by one of the authors; Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. January 30, 2015.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matthew J. Walton

Matthew J. Walton is the Aung San Suu Kyi Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies at St Antony's College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on religion and politics in Southeast Asia, with a special emphasis on Buddhism in Myanmar. Matt's current book manuscript explores Burmese Buddhist political thought and its influence on Myanmar's political transition. He has published articles in leading academic journals on Buddhism, ethnicity, and politics in Myanmar.

Melyn McKay

Melyn McKay is an M.Sc/D.Phil Candidate at the Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology at Oxford University and Exeter College's Alan Colart Scholar. Her work in Myanmar is concerned with ethical ontologies, identity, and women's participation in violent religious nationalism. Melyn has extensive experience designing, coordinating, and delivering research, particularly in fragile and conflict affected environments. Before coming to Oxford, she was Country Director South Sudan for Integrity Research and Consultancy.

Daw Khin Mar Mar Kyi

Daw Khin Mar Mar Kyi is the Aung San San Suu Kyi Gender Research Fellow in Burmese studies at Oxford University. She is the winner of the “Excellence in Gender Research” from the Australia National University in 2014. Her PhD thesis explored how previous regimes in Burma/Myanmar produced a gradual estrangement of women from power, intensifying structural gender-based violence. Her current research explores how the concepts of hpon (masculinity) vs. shame and fear (femininity) function as indicators of moral decay and identity crisis, institutionalizing gender violence in Burma/Myanmar.