Anxiety is surging among female workers and families across Myanmar following unconfirmed reports that the military junta launched a military service training program for women on August 10.
While Dr. Khaing Khaing Soe, spokesperson for the Office of the President under military leader Min Aung Hlaing, has denied the reports, an August 9 statement by the Myanmar Military and Security Studies Group (MDS) indicated that training could take place at several facilities, including the No. 4 Warrant Officer and Sergeant Training School in Hmawbi and the Rakhine Military Training Center No. 4.
The rumors have heightened fears in urban centers like Yangon, where thousands of women are employed in garment factories.
Workers often endure late-night shifts ending at 9:00 or 9:30 PM to make ends meet amid soaring living costs, raising serious safety concerns about commuting in areas where forced disappearances and arbitrary detentions have been reported.
"Garment factories prioritize getting their products shipped on time," said Ma San Yu, a local factory worker. "If something happens while workers are returning home, factories may not provide protection. Their attitude is essentially that if workers are taken, then so be it."
The development compounds existing financial pressures.
Families across various Yangon townships already report paying local administrators between 10,000 and 40,000 kyats monthly to shield male relatives from forced conscription, while recruitment buyouts range from 6 million to 10 million kyats.
Labor representatives warn that expanding conscription to women would introduce devastating new economic and emotional burdens for households already supporting young children and elderly dependents.
"Families are already struggling with the rising cost of living," said Ma Thida, a labor union official. "People are asking whether they will have to pay money to ward administrators to avoid conscription, or plead with the military. Workers also see this as something very frightening."
Labor advocates argue there is no operational necessity to conscript women, emphasizing that exempting them from military service is vital to safeguarding vulnerable populations amidst the ongoing political and economic crisis.
