Return of the Female Voice: The Role of Women in Myanmar's Ongoing Resistance

A talk that looks at how political and social forces have contributed and reinforced gender roles, inequalities and power dynamics down the years for Myanmar. It will travel back to the past to explore the structures of patriarchy and socialization which restricted women from attaining centralized leadership roles in the twin public domains of politics and religion, assess the messages of both female-empowerment and disempowerment that was represented by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as focus on the present - how women are taking the current political crisis as an opportunity to reshape the narrative of women’s role in society in addition to opposing the military takeover. Trends and pitfalls of the new era of female activism will be discussed and important insights into the debate on gender and political change in societies affected by conflict will be offered.

 

 

Nilanjana Sengupta, author & community historian, is based in Singapore. Her last book The Votive Pen: Writings on Edwin Thumboo (Penguin Random House, 2020), was shortlisted for both the Singapore Literature Prize 2022 and Singapore Book Award 2021. Her latest offering is Chickpeas to Cook & other Stories, a Penguin Random House publication that dwells on the lives of women from some of the smaller communities of Singapore. Her other books include A Gentleman’s Word: The Legacy of Subhas Chandra Bose in Southeast Asia (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2012, Cambridge University Press, 2013), The Female Voice of Myanmar: Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Singapore, My Country: Biography of M Bala Subramanian (World Scientific Press, 2016). Sengupta also writes for publications of the National Heritage Board, Singapore. Her books have been critically acclaimed, adopted for university courses and translated into multiple languages. She has been associated with the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute as well as the National University of Singapore in various research capacities.