<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/apr/20/myanmar-military-regime-widens-sanitary-towel-ban-claiming-rebels-use-them-for-first-aid>
"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.
The ban has been expanded this year and was likely to be more widespread than
many people thought, said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, because of the taboo around
talking about menstruation.
Meredith Bunn, founder of the medical aid charity Skills for Humanity (SFH),
said anyone who had ever worked in combat medicine knew that sanitary towels
could not be used to treat gunshot wounds or even lacerations.
“A sanitary pad wouldn’t stay in place, wouldn’t soak enough blood and wouldn’t
keep the area [clean],” she said, blaming the ban on “completely uneducated,
misogynistic fools within the military”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
