Many Palaung women are affected by domestic violence. Women’s rights are neither recognized nor understood in Palaung society, and Palaung women face acute gender discrimination in their daily lives. Many Palaung of both genders believe that men should be granted a higher status than women within both the family and society, and that males should be responsible for decision-making and the assumption of leadership roles. Such gender inequality is not restricted to the Palaung area and is prevalent throughout Burma, where traditional gender stereotypes dominate. However, it is widely accepted that the situation is worse in ethnic areas.
Since the November 2010 election, Burma’s military-backed government is keen to show the international and South East Asian regional communities that they are committed to implementing democratic reforms. However, Thein Sein’s regime has failed to carry out any programs effectively promoting gender equality in Burma or addressing the dangers of gender- based violence, especially in the ethnic areas. Furthermore, the military- backed regime does not collect statistics or carry out any research into the issues of gender discrimination and gender-based violence in Burma.
In an attempt to address this data gap, PWO has been gathering evidence of gender discrimination and domestic violence in the Palaung community, in order to discover the extent of the problem and to understand the impact of these issues on women’s lives. Between November 2009 and March 2010, PWO field researchers carried out a survey exploring levels of domestic violence and prevalent attitudes about gender equality in the Palaung area, in the northern part of Burma’s Shan State. Doing so has allowed PWO to assess the progress made, if any, by Burma’s military-backed regime in advancing women’s rights. PWO will continue to raise awareness of gender-discrimination and gender-based violence in the Palaung area and across Burma.