Abstract

This chapter asks “feminist questions” (Enloe, The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004) about the Myanmar Spring Revolution. Following the coup d’etat in February 2021 the Myanmar military has violently cracked down on protestors and activists opposing its rule. Taking the form of a conversation between an ethnic minority activist and feminist (Stella Naw) who recently fled Myanmar, and a feminist researcher of Myanmar (Jenny Hedström) based in Sweden, we reflect on what obligations a commitment to feminist struggles and equality imposes on activism and how, and in what ways, continuities of oppression and insecurity affect feminist activism in the midst of war. We ask: What do we see when we shift our focus from the 2021 coup toward other forms of oppression and war? What does it mean to live through revolutions and upheaval as a feminist committed to ethnic equality and justice? What are the opportunities for feminist activism from within military and/or patriarchal organizations, and what do we risk by working from inside? What are the sources for joy and hope within the current protest movement, and what do we need for a true, transformative change to take place in Myanmar?