Many young women are attempting to flee from Yangon Region because they are scared that they will be conscripted following the junta’s January 2025 amendments to the conscription law.

Under the conscription law men aged 18–35 and women aged 18–27 must serve at least two years in the military which can be extended to five years in emergencies. The conscription law was activated in February 2024 but, so far, no women have yet been conscripted.

Since the beginning of January the junta has been registering all men who are eligible for conscription. It has also banned men aged from 18 to 35 from leaving the country.

But, since 23 January 2025, when the junta brought in new amendments to the conscription law, it has also been registering women in Yangon Region who are eligible for conscription. Though women aged 18 to 27 can still leave the country they can no longer legally obtain Overseas Workers Identification Cards from the ministry of Labour, which allow them to leave the country for work. But, in some cases they can still get the cards if they pay a bribe of 3 to 4 million kyats to the relevant people at the Labour Department who issue the cards.

A woman from Hlaingthaya Township in Yangon Region said to DMG: “I feel completely unsafe, both mentally and physically, living here. I'm constantly worried about when I’ll be abducted for conscription or if I’ll be added to the conscription register. Some of my female friends have already left for the border.”

Yangon serves as a hub for many women who have migrated from various states and regions, either to seek work in factories or because they have been displaced from their home areas by fighting.