Many people in Myanmar still believe that men are nobler than women and are given preferences in inheritance and education, employment and politics.
Of the 90 political parties in the country, approximately 90 percent of executive committee members are male. Of the 18 political parties which won seats in the 2015 general election, only seven fielded women candidates.
In the executive branch, there were only two female minister at the national level and two female chief ministers at the regional level as of December 2017.
“There are no women appointed as township administrators in Myanmar’s 330 townships,” said U Naing Nghan Linn, social minister of Yangon Region, during an International Women’s Day event on Saturday.
Employment statistics are another telling source of gender inequality.
The labour force participation rate for persons aged 15 years and older is 63.4 percent, out of which 82pc are men and only 48pc are women.
Read more