Intersectionality and livelihoods of conflict-induced displaced Myanmar women in Mae Sot, Thailand

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals Report (2022) highlighted the global displacement crisis as 24.5 million population impacted by conflict by mid-2021; 311 out of every 100,000 people worldwide seeking refuge outside their country of origin[1]. The cycle of migration to Thailand from Myanmar has a special history with many intersecting factors of forced migration and a new trend emerges following 1st February 2021: only 1,527 cases in 9 shelters[2]; 986,670 regularized as migrant workers in 2021[3]; tens of thousands of unrecorded. The role of Myanmar’s unsung heroines cannot go forgotten. From a sociocultural conservative country with a constitution drafted by a patriarchal institution, women have increasingly involved in the revolution either as active actors or as a rearguard while armed resistance intensifies - 44% of Myanmar regularized workers in Thailand are women when most of the job openings for women tend to be in informal sectors[4]. Due to the fast-paced development of the conflict in Myanmar, while the prolonged civil unrest or the recent events are often viewed from a traditional security lens, the subtlety of women’s role in the cross-border settlement and the elusive nature of intersectionality in non-convention party state are rarely approached from a human security perspective.

This research provides a gendered intersectionality perspective on academic studies of human security in conflict-induced cross-border livelihoods while, at the same time, accentuating the resilience of women in displacement situations during conflict times amidst the elusive nature of discrimination at different levels. Through focusing on the human security of Myanmar women in Mae Sot asking how the unfulfilled aspects of human rights in country-of-origin Myanmar and prejudice towards individual identities they hold onto intersect with getting legal protection and socioeconomic standing in the host country Thailand, which livelihood assets the individuals have and in what ways the actors are ensuring such have been explored through integrative inputs from expert practitioners and community actors to introduce how transdisciplinary approach to participatory humanitarian assistance can help build the resilience of such population to achieve sustainable livelihoods.

[1] UN DESA (2022). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 - July 2022. New York, USA: UN DESA. © UN DESA. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/

[2] TBC (2021, 2022). Refugee Camp Population: January 2021 vs Refugee Camp Population: December 2022. The Border Consortium.

[3] ILO. (2022). TRIANGLE in ASEAN Quarterly Briefing Note: Myanmar (July to September 2022). Bangkok: International Labour Organization.

[4] Sakulsri, T. (2022). Challenges of Labor Migrants to Thailand: Issues of Bilateral Agreements for the Employment of Workers in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Journal of Population and Social Studies.