HURFOM Releases Latest Voice Up Briefing Highlighting Gendered Impacts of Junta Violence

October 3, 2025

The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has published the third issue of its quarterly Voice Up series, documenting the worsening gendered impacts of the attempted coup in Southeastern Burma. Covering the period of July to September 2025, the report highlights alarming levels of violence targeting women and children across Mon State, Karen State, and the Tanintharyi Region.

According to HURFOM’s field data, 18 women were killed, 53 were injured, and 28 were arbitrarily arrested during this reporting period. At least 15 children were killed and another 27 were wounded. Many of these attacks took place in areas where there was no active fighting, underscoring the junta’s deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians.

One of the most tragic incidents occurred on 8 September in Yar Phu village, Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, when junta troops fired artillery shells directly into civilian homes. A three-year-old girl, Ma Ngwe Hmone Oo, was killed instantly when a shell struck her family’s house. Her mother, devastated, shared with HURFOM:

“It’s devastating to realize how wrong our decision was. Everyone else had left the village, but we stayed. Now I have lost my daughter. I feel like I’m going crazy without her.”

The child’s father, Ko Thura Aung, was later arrested by soldiers that evening. He remains in detention.

Such tragedies are not isolated. Throughout the quarter, HURFOM documented multiple cases where women and children were trapped in their homes and villages as junta forces launched artillery, airstrikes, and mortar shelling. Many families, especially those displaced and unable to flee safely, continue to suffer the brunt of this violence.

Despite ongoing adversity, women remain courageous and continue to give eyewitness accounts of abuses. Yet their resilience is met with silence and neglect from much of the international community. The report stresses that the gendered impacts of the junta’s violence must not be overlooked.

HURFOM is urging the international community to:

Increase funding for women-led initiatives.
Strengthen protection mechanisms for women and children.
Support calls for justice by holding the junta accountable for crimes of impunity.

The Voice Up series amplifies the voices of women and girls affected by the failed coup, shining a light on their daily struggles and the urgent need for international attention.

Media Contacts

Mi Seik Non, Assistant Coordinator | Email: miseiknon222@gmail.com | Phone: +95 9 772 760 517
Nai Aue Mon, Program Director | Email: auemon@rehmonnya.org | Signal: +66 86 167 9741

HURFOM was founded by exiled pro-democracy students from the 1988 uprising, alongside Mon community leaders and youth. The organization remains committed to restoring democracy, human rights, and genuine peace in Burma.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News, Special Report