The Tatmawdaw – the military government in Myanmar – has reportedly expanded a ban on menstrual products from being transported in the country across key routes, as part of the ongoing civil war in the country.
This targeting of sanitary pads appears to be an extension of the military’s so-called “Four Cuts” strategy, which seeks to sever resistance forces from food, funds, intelligence and recruits.
Menstrual products, it seems, have been added to that logic – and in the process stealing women’s dignity and basic human rights. While there has been no official communication about the ban, a spokeperson for local non-government organisation Sisters2Sisters says soldiers on the ground have indicated the crackdown is out of the belief that the products are being used “by the People’s Defence Force for medical reasons and as support for their feet and boots to absorb sweat and blood”.
