Verse: filmmaking for women's rights in MyanmarCEFR B1
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 came under new pressure. Exile Hub expanded at that time to support journalists and human rights defenders, and it later helped fund some film projects.
Verse began as a reporter in 2018 but left because of gender bias at work. For one major assignment, male reporters were sent to Nay Pyi Taw while she was told to remain behind. She refused to accept a workplace that blocked her growth and joined a women’s rights organisation to focus on feminist issues.
Her commitment grew from family example. Her grandmother, a Rakhine woman who ran a sawmill, quietly defied gender norms and taught Verse about dignity. Verse studied at Yangon Film School in 2020; after she raised a complaint about an inappropriate comment, the school adopted its first zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy.
Verse uses film to centre unseen women. Her animated Exit addresses stigma, violence and criminalisation of sex workers. She received a Critical Voices production grant through Exile Hub in 2022 and later won a Feminist Storytelling Grant to make a documentary called Fight for Freedom.
Difficult words
- coup — a sudden change of government by force
- gender bias — unfair treatment because of being male or female
- sexual harassment — unwanted sexual behaviour at work or school
- stigma — a strong negative social label or shame
- criminalisation — making an action illegal by law
- documentary — a non-fiction film about real people or events
- grant — money given to support a project or person
- centre — to focus attention on someone or something
- defy — to refuse to follow a rule or normdefied
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Why is it important for filmmakers to centre stories about unseen women?
- How might a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy change life at a school or workplace?
- Can a family example influence a person’s career choices? How does the article show this?
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