ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how women continue to face structural gender-based discrimination and decline of their positions in society as a result of the prolonged period of military rule and its associated militarisation of culture with political ideologies. Buddhism will continue to influence Burmese gender relations, as it stresses different values, responsibilities and norms between the sexes, though it offers contradictory gendered roles and meanings. Traditional Burmese culture provided women with a high degree of gender equality, particularly 'sexual egalitarianism in social and economic affairs that may be unique in the Southeast Asian region'. The impact of gender discrimination was clearest in their views of Burmese women's sexuality. The endorsement of Myanmar's Constitution via a referendum in 2008 aimed to legalise structural discrimination against women. Although evidence indicates that education plays a crucial role, and is one of the main forms of capital for human development, government funding for education in Myanmar is minimal, tied only with the health sector.
