Every society in Kachin State, including across Myanmar, embraces and practices a gender equality approach, and both Kachin State and the wider country are developed and able to maintain sustainable peace.
This qualitative study by HTOI Gender and Development Foundation documents how Kachin women have experienced the social, economic, and gender-based consequences of Myanmar's February 2021 military coup. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with women across six townships — Myitkyina, Wai Maw, Bhamo, Putao, Mohnyin, and Phakant — the research centres the voices of community members, IDP camp residents, church and women's network leaders, civil society workers, and women who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The study was conducted between 15–25 August 2022, with interviews held in Jinghpaw and Burmese and analysed using thematic coding in MAXQDA. Participants spoke under conditions of anonymity given the security risks of post-coup research.
2026-04-25
This rapid mini-research study by HTOI Gender and Development Foundation examines how the internet shutdown imposed on Hpakant Township in August 2021 affected women leaders working on women's rights in the area. The study was conducted entirely online during a period of intersecting crises — the COVID-19 pandemic, post-coup political instability, and severe restrictions on travel and communication into the affected region. The shutdown began on the night of 20 August 2021, when MPT, Telenor, Ooredoo and Wi-Fi connections in Hpakant were cut, leaving residents reliant on a single military-linked operator (Mytel) that worked only intermittently and only on certain Chinese-made handsets. The research uses a qualitative approach, drawing on phone interviews with six women leaders — three from Myusha Zinlum and three from KWA — supplemented by Myanmar and Kachin local media reporting. Given the security and access constraints, data collection was completed in a single week.
2026-04-25