YANGON, Myanmar — Thousands of female political prisoners in Myanmar are being subjected to a “prison without walls” after their release, with authorities systematically withholding their national identity cards and blacklisting them from international travel.
The Women’s Organization for Political Prisoners (WOPP) reported on Thursday that over 50% of released female dissidents have had their National Registration Cards (NRCs) confiscated. Without these vital documents, former detainees are unable to travel domestically, secure employment, or access basic services.
The policy of withholding IDs is coupled with the blacklisting of passports to prevent former activists from fleeing the country. “More than half of the women released are facing this situation,” said Ma Su Myat, a spokesperson for WOPP. “It’s a deliberate strategy to keep them under constant surveillance and restrict their freedom of movement.”
The crackdown is reportedly most severe for those released from major facilities, including Mandalay’s Obo Prison, and the Myingyan, Tharrawaddy, and Daik-U prisons.
One former inmate from Myingyan Prison shared her ordeal with MPA: “They took all my identification when I was arrested. When I was released, nothing was returned. Being out of prison doesn’t mean I am free; I am still being watched, and without my ID, I can’t even prove who I am.”
The WOPP further revealed that released prisoners are being tracked through the Person Scrutinization and Monitoring System (PSMS). Under this digital surveillance net, former detainees remain under the shadow of their previous charges, which are often not officially cleared even after they have served their sentences.
Attempting to remove one’s name from the PSMS list is an arduous bureaucratic process that often takes months, during which the individual remains a constant target for spot checks at military checkpoints.
“They even took my degree certificates and work records during the raid on my house,” said another former prisoner from Obo Jail. “Now, I have no way to show my background or professional qualifications. It’s as if they want to erase our entire existence.”
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), 30,692 people have been arrested in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, including 6,348 women. While some have been released, the latest findings suggest that freedom is often illusory.
The report comes against a backdrop of increasing violence; AAPP data shows that over 2,100 women have been killed during the five-year conflict, with at least 40 of those deaths occurring within police stations, interrogation centers, and prisons.
For the survivors, the withholding of identity documents marks a new front in the sham government’s campaign to suppress dissent, effectively turning the entire country into a controlled environment for those who once dared to speak out.
