Human Rights Watch says women detained in Myanmar face widespread torture, sexual violence and serious medical neglect, with thousands of political prisoners held since the military seized power in the 2021 coup.
Female political prisoners in Myanmar have reported beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence and denial of essential medical treatment, according to Human Rights Watch, which said the abuses were part of a pattern of ill-treatment in detention facilities across the country.
The New York-based rights group said more than 6,600 women, including former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and 640 children are among more than 30,000 political prisoners detained since the military coup in February 2021. The coup was followed by a prolonged civil war that has devastated parts of the impoverished Southeast Asian country, killing about 100,000 people and displacing more than 3.5 million.
“Women who have been detained as political prisoners in Myanmar paint a deeply disturbing picture of a prison system in which suffering and neglect are both deliberate and routine,” said Bryony Lau, Human Rights Watch’s Asia deputy director.
The organisation’s report was based on interviews with 17 former female detainees conducted in 2025 and 2026. Those interviewed included activists, journalists, aid and healthcare workers, as well as members of prisoners’ families and lawyers. According to the group, the former detainees had been prosecuted under several provisions of Myanmar’s criminal code, including a post-coup law used to punish opposition and dissent and a broad counter-terrorism law.
Human Rights Watch said prison authorities beat some prisoners with sticks, chains, metal pipes and slingshots. Some detainees were subjected to electric shocks, cigarette burns and prolonged stress positions, while others experienced sexual violence.
The rights group also documented allegations of widespread denial of medical care. Former prisoners said authorities routinely blocked access to treatment for serious chronic and acute medical conditions. Pregnant women were also denied necessary care, with some forced to give birth inside their cells.
One former prisoner described being unable to obtain an ultrasound examination to determine her due date. She told Human Rights Watch that her water broke at midnight, but a letter referring her to a hospital did not arrive until 10 a.m. “Chains were put back on my feet right after the delivery,” she said.
Reuters could not independently verify the accounts contained in the Human Rights Watch report. However, the allegations are consistent with findings in a 2025 report by United Nations investigators, which documented torture in Myanmar detention facilities. The UN report cited “beatings, electric shocks, strangulations, gang rape, burning of sexual body parts and other forms of sexual violence.”
At least 74 political prisoners aged between 18 and 35 have died in detention since the coup, according to a report in January. Some deaths were attributed to alleged inadequate medical treatment and harsh interrogation.
The military-backed government that took office following Myanmar’s widely criticised 2025/26 election did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The election allowed former junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to become president.
