Human Rights Myanmar (HRM) has accused Myanmar’s junta of transforming the digital space into a gendered battlefield where women face targeted repression through surveillance, online abuse, and the weaponized AI.

In a new submission to the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, HRM said the junta has built a “digital dictatorship” since the 2021 coup, combining internet controls, data surveillance, and AI-powered technologies to silence dissent – particularly that of women and girls. 

The report, titled “Gender Equality, the Digital Space and AI in Myanmar,” argues that the junta’s digital repression is “inherently gendered,” amplifying patriarchal norms to exclude women from political and public life.

According to the report, Myanmar leads the world in internet shutdowns, with frequent blackouts timed to coincide with protests or military operations. The junta has blocked social media platforms, inflated mobile data prices, and expanded censorship laws – such as Article 505A of the Penal Code – to criminalize online speech. HRM said these measures disproportionately harm women, who already face lower income and digital literacy levels.

The group warned that the 2025 Cybersecurity Law grants sweeping powers to monitor citizens, compel service providers to hand over user data, and prosecute online dissent. AI-powered CCTV networks supplied by Chinese firms Huawei, Dahua, and Hikvision now blanket major cities, creating what HRM called “open-air prisons” that deter women from participating in protests or public life.

The report documents a sharp rise in technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). Analysis of 1.6 million social-media posts showed politically motivated abuse against women increased fivefold between 2021 and 2022. Pro-military networks routinely “doxx” women activists and journalists, releasing personal information alongside sexualized disinformation and threats of arrest, rape, or death.

HRM urged the UN and member states to condemn the junta’s digital coup, sanction foreign technology suppliers, and compel social-media companies to curb abuse by investing in Myanmar-language moderation. It also called for expanded international support for digital-security initiatives protecting women human-rights defenders and for accountability mechanisms to preserve evidence of digital crimes.