WOMEN’S RIGHTS ONLINEREPORTCARD
NAME OF COUNTRY
MYANMAR
Measuring Progress,
Driving Action

INT
E’SEN

ACCESS & W
ET OWERM OM
NENR MPTE

COUNTRY NAME
MYANMAROVERALL SCORE:
SCORE:

xx
40%%

SCORE:Y

X
6Internet add
affordability
has improvedin the pastforfew
andPlease2-3 sentences
justification
theyears,score...
Myanmarhas reachedthe Alliance
The paragraphcan consistof ±for70Affordable
words. Internet’s
target of 1 GB of data for under 2% of average income.
According to A4AI 2017’s data, 1 GB of data is equivalent to1.47% of average income.Yet still, more than thirty percent
of Myanmar’s population lives below the poverty line.
Affordability and quality of the internet need to be improved
for universal access. The country’s Universal Service Strategy
is being implemented by the regulatory department, but itlacks comprehensive programs targeting women.

DIGI
TA

O R DA BILITInternet access has increased in recent years with thePlease
addof2-3
justification
thescore...
introduction
newsentences
telecoms operators
and afordropin sim
cardTheparagraph
can consistof ± 70 words.
and mobile
data prices.
Despite improvementsin access andaffordability, women are 28% less likely than men to own amobile phone, the primary means of accessing the internet
in Myanmar. While there is no official gender disaggregateddata collected by the government to monitor and evaluate
the status of gender and ICT in the country, this data has
been collected by non-governmental organizations suchas LIRNEasia, MIDO and GSMA, and should inform gender
responsive ICT policymaking.

SCORE:KILLS & EDU
SCLIONATFAFX
4X
2.5

There aregovernment
specificallyto build
Pleaseaddno2-3
sentencesprograms
justification
for the score...
capacityand develop
women’sofdigitalin Myanmar.
The paragraphcan consist± 70 skills
words.
There are a few initiatives of the Ministry of Education andother local and international organizations to train teachers
in ICT for education and to increase women’s participation intechnology related studies and training. However, less than
15% of secondary schools in the country are considered“Internet ready”, according to UNESCO. Although there aresome ICT skills building initiatives by private sectors andNGOs such as JICA, Huawei, they should promote moreprograms targeting primarily to women and girls.

RELEVAICESRVSCORE:

LINE S AFETYNOCONTENT & SETNX
4There areseveral
mobile justification
applicationsfor
developedbyPleaseadd 2-3sentences
the score...
NGOsand telecomthatmaternal andThe paragraphcanoperators
consist of± provide
70 words.
reproductive health information. However, localization ofthese applications to ethnic languages is almost non-existent.
Availability of local language content is important since
the majority of marginalized populations are from ethnic
states and regions. Access to relevant online content andservices can bring socio-economics benefit for the women
living in those areas.

SCORE:

X3

There aremechanisms
or guidelines
for law
Pleaseaddno2-3legal
sentencesjustification
for the score...
enforcement
agenciesor the judiciary
respond to cases
The paragraphcan consistof ± 70towords.
where ICTs are used to commit gender based violence.
In terms of privacy issues, the Law Protecting the Privacy
and Security of Citizens exists, but it is not comprehensive
enough to tackle digital data privacy. The Protection ofViolence Against Women law (PoVAW) is still in the draft
stage and should include guidelines to address online GBV.

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP: A 5 POINT ACTION PLAN
1 		BOLD
INTEGRATEUPPERCASE
GENDER INTO
FONT
NATIONAL
FOR FIRST
POLICIES.
SENTENCE
The government
OFshouldEACH
take gender
POINT.
into consideration
Please add
wheneverdeveloping
reviewing
legislations
and policies
Myanmar,such as the National
master
2-3 sentences
for oreachpoint internet-relatedof approximately
30 words.
Pleaseinadd
2-3 sentences
for eachICTpoint
ofplan and e-government
masterplan etc.
shouldrelevant
stakeholders andapproximately
30 words.
PleaseaddGovernment
2-3 sentences
forworkeachwithpointof approximately
30 conductwords. meaningful
public consultation sessions in developing these gender-responsive policies.
2 	BOLD UPPERCASE FONT FOR FIRST SENTENCE OF EACH POINT. Please add
2 	S
YSTEMATICCOLLECTION
PUBLISHINGOF GENDER-DISAGGREGATED
ICTpoint
DATA.
2-3
sentences foreach point of AND
approximately
30 words.
Please add 2-3 sentences for eachofHaving gender disaggregated data is crucial for long term monitoring and evaluation of digital gender divide. As aapproximately 30 words. Please add 2-3 sentences for each point of approximately 30 words.
first step, the Telecoms regulatory body should initiate collecting and publishing gender disaggregated ICT user data.
Additionally, the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) should include a gender component in collecting and publishing3 	BOLD
UPPERCASE FONT FOR FIRST SENTENCE OF EACH POINT. Please add
National Population Census in the future.

2-3 sentences for each point of approximately 30 words. Please add 2-3 sentences for each point ofwords. Pleaseadd 2-3LITERACY
sentences foreach point ofGovernment
approximately
30 words.
3 	approximately
IMPLEMENT30
INCLUSIVE
DIGITAL
PROGRAMS.
and relevant
Ministries should
initiate nationwide digital literacy programs which are inclusive across genders, language and ethnic groups, and people
4 	BOLD
UPPERCASE FONT FOR FIRST SENTENCE OF EACH POINT. Please add
with disabilities.
2-3 sentences for each point of approximately 30 words. Please add 2-3 sentences for each point of4 	approximately
INCREASE ACCESS
access,policies such as30Universal30 words.ANDPleaseAFFORDABILITY.
add 2-3 sentences Toforincreaseeach pointof approximatelywords.Service Fundshould be leveraged to implement infrastructure and programs to promote more accessibility for citizens, particularly
5 	BOLD
those at thebottom of the pyramid.
UPPERCASE
FONT FOR FIRST SENTENCE OF EACH POINT. Please add

2-3 sentences for each point of approximately 30 words. Please add 2-3 sentences for each point of5 	END GENDER BASED VIOLENCE ONLINE. Develop a comprehensive legal framework that can protect
approximately 30 words. Please add 2-3 sentences for each point of approximately 30 words.
women’s rights and safety online. This should be incorporated in the Protection of Violence Against Women law (PoVAW)
that is still in the draft stage and yet to be enacted.

PROJECT OVERVIEWThe United Nations recently
made gender-equitable access to
information and communications
technologies (ICTs) central to theSustainable Development Goals(SDGs), which set the global
development agenda until 2030.
Why? ICTs are powerful. They can help todeliver improved healthcare, quality education
for all, financial inclusion, more accountablegovernment, and much more. In adopting theSDGs, all countries have pledged to prioritise
universal Internet access, and to use ICTs toempower women.
But much hard work lies ahead if weare to translate this vision into reality. A
formidable gender gap in Internet access,digital skills and online rights exists - our
Women’s Rights Online research shows that inmany communities, women are 50% less likely
than men to be online and 30-50% less likely

to use the Internet for economic and politicalempowerment. Women face many barriers- including high costs, lack of know-how,
and a scarcity of relevant and empoweringcontent - as well as social and legal obstacles
to speaking freely and privately online.
The Web Foundation and partners have
prepared these gender audits to help countries
assess what they need to do to overcome
the gender digital divide.
divide. Name
MIDO of(MyanmarPartner
has forICT
takenDevelopment
the lead, inOrganization)
consultation withhas taken
othernational
thelead,stakeholders,in consultation
on identifying
with otherconcrete
nationalsteps that government
stakeholders,on identifying
can takeconcretein thesteps
nextyear governmentthatto address can
the takechallenges
in the next
andyeargaps
toidentified.theaddressWechallenges
hope that andthis reportgaps identified.
card andaction
We
hope
plan
thatwillthisspark
reportdebatecard andandaction
galvaniseplanpolicywill
sparkchange.
debate and galvanise policy change.

A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY:
We based our scores on 14 simple indicators for which reliable empirical evidence exists,and grading was done inin 2018.
the second
See thequarteraccompanyingof 2016. Seeoverview
the accompanying
for a description
overviewof thefor a description
indicatorsand sourcesof the used.
indicators
A fulland
methodology
sources used.
is available
A full methodology
on our website.
is available on
our website.

Produced with support from: