Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts in English communities, women face barriers inheriting or owning land, 436 which further exacerbates their vulnerability. 200. Women bear the brunt of the conflict and humanitarian crisis. 437 They care for the land and children left behind.438 They have become the protectors of their ethnic and religious communities. Sometimes they send food and money to their male relatives who are fighting. They have been exposed to insecurity and attacks, and targeted for sexual and gender-based violence by all parties to the conflict. 201. The militarized and politicized struggles for self-determination are gendered. EAO recruitment strategies are not ‘gender-neutral’. They are affected by socially constructed and culturally specific gender norms. The Mission received consistent information indicating that TNLA, SSA-S, SSA-N439 and KIA recruit women and girls, sometimes forcibly.440 They are often required to perform roles seen as ‘women’s work’, such as cooks, cleaners or nurses. 441 Women in the KIA have to leave the armed group earlier than men, as they must retire upon marriage and childbirth, which means that only young and childless women are targeted for recruitment.442 The SSA-N recruits female soldiers but the Mission is unaware of the extent to which they are assigned combat functions. 443 Combat experience has been a de facto prerequisite for high-ranking political positions in nongovernment controlled areas.444 The ability of most women to reach high-level positions in either the civilian or the military administration is therefore hampered by their lack of access to combat functions. That in turn hinders their political participation in the peace process.445 In addition, since women are confined to lower ranking positions within these armed groups, they are more exposed to higher risks of sexual and gender-based violence. 202. Mass weddings organised at short notice by EAOs also raise concerns. EAO fighters marry women and girls in villages at once to avoid costs and facilitate logistics.446 The brides are often children and, even when adults, it is unclear whether they provide informed consent.447 The Mission also received credible information suggesting that, when EAO members rape or sexually assault a female, they typically marry the survivor to restore harmony in the community.448 203. The Arakan Army (AA), which is active in Chin and Rakhine states, has both male and female soldiers. Female soldiers can participate in combat but in practice male soldiers do most of the fighting. Female AA members often hold other positions, including as nurses or seamstresses to make the soldiers’ uniforms. Both women and men members do the cooking in the AA.449 The Mission did not receive information about sexual or gender436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 Namati, Gendered Aspects of Land Rights in Myanmar II: Evidence from Paralegal Case Work (June 2019); Gender Profile for Humanitarian Action, and across the Humanitarian-Peace-Development Nexus (Rakhine, Kachin and Northern Shan Myanmar) January 2019; Woods, Kevin. “A Political Anatomy of Land Grabs.” Transnational Institute, March 2014; Faxon, Hilary. “The Praxis of Access: Gender in Myanmar’s Land Use Policy.” Conference Paper No. 17, Chiang Mai University, May 2015, pp.7-8. Jenny Hedstrom, The political economy of the Kachin revolutionary household, The Pacific review (28 December 2016). PM-011. Shan State Army-North. PI-123, PI-027, DI-070. PI-045, PI-093, PI-094, PI-101, PI-123, LI-187, PM-011, DI-070, PI-014, PM-011, Jenny Hedstrom, Gender and Myanmar’s Kachin Conflict, New Mandala, (27 July 2015). Jenny Hedstrom, The political economy of the Kachin revolutionary household, The Pacific review (28 December 2016). PM-010. PM-011, Jenny Hedstrom, Gender and Myanmar’s Kachin Conflict, New Mandala, (27 July 2015). There are some exceptions, for example the Karen Nation Union (KNU) had a prominent woman in charge of peace negotiations; PI-032. PM-010, PM-011. PM-010, PM-011, Jenny Hedstrom, The political economy of the Kachin revolutionary household, The Pacific review (28 December 2016). PM-010, PM-011. LI-187. 47