Burmese Language Audio
In Myanmar, despite limited moves towards decentralisation over the last decade, formal legal, policy-making and budgetary powers remain highly centralised at the union level. However, in practice, decision making at ward/village tract and village level has a large impact on citizens’ lives. Ward/village tract administrators and “100 household heads ” – the main elected community leaders – act as key interlocutors between ordinary people and higher levels of the state. So, although the vast majority of the government’s budget is centrally controlled, much of the de facto revenue collection and public service delivery is decided at local levels. Local decision-making remains highly gendered due to a persistent gender division of roles and responsibilities. In Myanmar, improving gender equality of participation in local governance bodies could result in more equitable decisions for the population.
The talk will examine the gender equality of politics and administration at the local level, and provide recommendations to boost women’s role in local decision-making. See EMReF working paper. The talk complements earlier work by EMReF on gender equality of participation in Myanmar’s parliamentary politics (presented at the Myanmar Speaker Series this Spring, see here).
Presenter
Mr. La Ring is a program officer and researcher at Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF) in Yangon, Myanmar. La Ring has managed research projects in the field of socio-economics, gender and media across the country. He graduated with Bachelor of Social Work from Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong, Northeast India, and holds a Master of Arts in Social Science from Chiang Mai University, Thailand. La Ring authored a book titled “Accumulation by Dispossession and Local Livelihood Insecurity: A case study of Ruby Mining in Mogok, Myanmar” published by the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiang Mai University, as well as co-authored the book ‘Feminism in Myanmar’ published by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Myanmar.
Commentary
Ms. Aye Lei Tun, Senior Gender Program Manager at the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF). She holds a Master’s Degree in Development Practice from the University of Queensland, Australia and in Gender, Human Rights and Conflict Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands. She has a background in journalism, and media and communications