Myanmar Women in Media (MWiM), Burmese Women’s Union (BWU), and Sisters 2 Sisters issued a joint statement on October 3 urging authorities and armed groups to respect the freedom of expression and safety of media workers.
The statement emphasized that all relevant organizations, including armed groups, must allow journalists to operate responsibly. It also warned that arresting journalists undermines both freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
The groups expressed particular concern over the detention of Mudra, a female reporter for the Arakan (Rakhine) State-based Border News Agency (BNA), who was taken for questioning by the intelligence unit of the United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the Arakan Army (AA). She has not been released nearly two weeks after her detention.
“We still haven’t been able to contact her. Her father was allowed to see her for just one day, and since then the AA has refused him access, so he had to stop trying,” BNA Editor-in-Chief U Kaung Myat Naing said.
The women’s groups called for Mudra’s immediate release, stressing that she is simply a journalist doing her job and that keeping her detained for so long endangers both her personal safety and her freedom to report.
ULA spokesperson U Khaing Thukha told media that Mudra is being investigated for activities that violated wartime regulations and jeopardized public safety. But her detention has left the local journalism community increasingly uneasy.
“I’m starting to worry that journalists will face even more challenges than we already do. With the internet restrictions and other obstacles, reporting on the ground is hard enough. These interrogations make it even harder to get information out,” a female journalist in Arakan State said.
Despite numerous challenges including internet and phone blackouts, air travel risks, and strict travel restrictions, media groups and journalists in Arakan State continue to report on the conflict with resilience.
The women’s groups also expressed concern for female journalists, who bravely work under particularly dangerous conditions in conflict zones.
“Journalists are putting their lives on the line just to do their work here, knowing that our safety is always at risk. With all these arrests and interrogations, I feel like my own safety is even more in danger,” said a male freelance journalist in Arakan State.
The statement also strongly condemned the growing pressure on media professionals in the country, noting that Myanmar ranks 169th out of 180 in Reporters Without Borders’ 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
