Women political prisoners in Myanmar have faced torture, sexual violence, unsanitary conditions, and life-threatening denials of medical care, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday, calling for their immediate release.
Myanmar suffers a civil war, affecting most of the country, following the military seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The New York-based rights group interviewed 17 former female political prisoners — including activists, journalists, health workers, and aid workers who were held in 11 interrogation centers and prisons — as well as three family members and four lawyers and advocates in 2025 and 2026.
The women described beatings with sticks, chains, metal pipes, and slingshots, and said they were subjected to electric shocks, sexual violence, cigarette burns, prolonged stress positions, and weeks or months in solitary confinement, according to the report.
HRW also cited the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners — a group that keeps detailed records of arrests and casualties perpetrated by the authorities — noting that nearly 6,600 women and 640 children have been detained for political reasons since the takeover.
The rights group also said 43 women political prisoners and their children were among 290 political prisoners who died between 2021 and 2026, according to Myanmar Prison Witness, a watchdog group.
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