At the nexus of violence, trade sanctions and vulnerabilities: women garment workers in Myanmar following the 2021 military coup

This article examines the multifaceted causes of the increasing vulnerability to different forms of structural violence faced by women workers in the garment industry, particularly in the aftermath of the political upheavals of spring 2021. The authors operationalise the conceptual framing of feminist political economy to demonstrate not only the complex layers of oppression that women are faced with, but also the levers of influence and the power dynamics at play. The article draws attention to the risk of increased gender violence and other forms of labour rights violations facing women workers, worsened by deteriorating social-economic conditions brought about by civil war and trade sanctions as enterprises involved in the supply chain of the global garment industry struggle for survival. One thing is certain: the normalisation of political repression, gender violence, marginalised livelihoods and precariousness underline the dwindling hope for a better future that the growing garment industry, if well regulated, might have held for many women workers in Myanmar.