Following recent reports, the Myanmar military junta has issued a statement denying any official plans to conscript women for service. However, local residents in Yangon report that authorities have started registering eligible women, raising fears that conscription may soon follow. Amid mounting troop shorta
BY PC Bureau
Myanmar’s regime has denied reports claiming it has started the process of drafting women for military service by registering females in the Yangon Region. According to media reports, the junta issued a statement saying it has no such plans and that any actions taken by local officials regarding women’s recruitment are unauthorized and unofficial.
Until now, the military has only conscripted men—sometimes through force—but since mid-January, local authorities have begun compiling lists of eligible women in the Yangon region, indicating that official conscription may be forthcoming. Residents in several townships reported witnessing this registration process. A South Dagon Township resident told The Irrawaddy, “They are compiling lists in my ward… They included my eldest sister, but she has already gone abroad. I don’t know what will happen.”
“NO PLAN to recruit women for People’s Military Service in current situation.” #WhatsHappeninglnMyanmar #Myanmar pic.twitter.com/RF9O2Qed8J
— Freelance Journalist (@Freelancejou333) January 29, 2025
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A woman from Thaketa Township, speaking to Radio Free Asia, said that many students, including her 20-year-old daughter attending East Yangon University, had been added to the list. Despite her attempt to request a postponement for her daughter because of her student status, the request was denied.
In response to these growing concerns, a regime representative from the conscription committee clarified that the authorities were simply compiling a list of eligible women, likening it to a census, and had not yet officially called them up for service. However, the timing of the registration, alongside amendments to the Conscription Law made on January 23—requiring consecutive military service for family members and blocking citizens from leaving the country without junta approval—indicates that full-scale conscription may be on the horizon.
The amended law introduces penalties for draft dodgers, including three years in prison for failing to respond to their call-up. Families are now also required to explain any absences and register a substitute, deepening the anxiety among citizens. A mother from Yangon expressed her fear to The Irrawaddy, saying, “I’m on edge if my daughter returns late from work. How can I hand her to an army of murderers and rapists?”
As the regime struggles to replenish its forces amid battlefield losses, it has been forcibly conscripting men from homes, streets, and buses. With 14 million people, or 26% of the population, eligible for military service under the new law, many are fleeing the country or joining anti-regime groups. The junta’s recruitment efforts, including the potential conscription of women, reflect its increasing desperation to bolster its ranks.
