A talk that looks at how political and social forces have contributed and reinforced gender roles, inequalities and power dynamics down the years for Myanmar. It will travel back to the past to explore the structures of patriarchy and socialization which restricted women from attaining centralized leadership roles in the twin public domains of politics and religion, assess the messages of both female-empowerment and disempowerment that was represented by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as focus on the present – how women are taking the current political crisis as an opportunity to reshape the narrative of women’s role in society in addition to opposing the military takeover. Trends and pitfalls of the new era of female activism will be discussed and important insights into the debate on gender and political change in societies affected by conflict will be offered.