Project

Myanmar's Women and Girls on Facebook

Myanmar was widely off the internet grid until the state lowered firewalls in 2012. As Myanmar experiences the growing pains of the internet, journalist Shaina Shealy unpacks tensions from the intersection of Facebook, free speech, and public safety by documenting women and girls behind phone and computer screens. Her reporting addresses questions about online protections, Facebook’s impact on women’s traditional roles, and about the people behind posts targeting women. Shealy also shows how the state is approaching a balance between its relatively young obligation to free speech and protection of vulnerable communities.