Myanmar military regime widens sanitary towel ban, claiming rebels use them for first aid
Source: The Guardian
Myanmar military regime widens sanitary towel ban, claiming rebels use them for first aid
Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rights
Rebecca Root
Mon 20 Apr 2026 10.00 BST
Last modified on Mon 20 Apr 2026 10.02 BST
Myanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists.
The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then.
Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a director at Sisters2Sisters, a women’s rights collective that supports fighters, said: “The [military is] saying menstrual products are used by the People’s Defence Force for medical reasons and as support for their feet and boots to absorb sweat and blood.”
There has been no official communication from the military government on this, but the blockade – thought to be part of a broader effort known as “four cuts”, which is designed to deprive insurgents of basic supplies – began in August in certain areas where opposition forces have control. Transporting pads across the bridge that connects Sagaing with Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, is completely prohibited.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/apr/20/myanmar-military-regime-widens-sanitary-towel-ban-claiming-rebels-use-them-for-first-aid