Verse: filmmaking for women's rights in MyanmarCEFR A2
28 Dec 2025
Adapted from Exile Hub, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Matan Levanon, Unsplash
After the 2021 coup, local media and rights groups faced new pressure. Exile Hub, a partner of Global Voices, grew to support journalists and human rights defenders in Southeast Asia.
Verse began as a reporter in 2018 and wanted to cover politics, but she met gender bias. For a major assignment men were sent to Nay Pyi Taw while she stayed behind. She left journalism and joined a women’s rights organisation to work on feminist and human rights issues.
In 2020 she went to Yangon Film School. Her animated film Exit looks at the lives of sex workers and was supported by Goethe-Institut Myanmar and shown at festivals in 2024.
Difficult words
- coup — a sudden illegal change of government
- exile — living away from your country for safety
- journalist — a person who reports news for the publicjournalists
- defender — a person who protects other people's rightsdefenders
- assignment — a job or task given to someone
- animated — made using moving drawings or images
- feminist — supporting equal rights for women
- gender bias — unfair treatment because of a person's gender
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Have you seen or experienced gender bias at work? What happened?
- Do you think it is important to support journalists and defenders? Why or why not?
- Would you like to make a short film about a social issue? What topic would you choose?
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