After completing seven years of medical training, May, a 26-year-old doctor in Myanmar, saw her aspirations collapse following the military coup in February 2021. With an economy already weakened by the pandemic, the coup exacerbated conditions, leading to rampant inflation that saw prices surge and her monthly salary of $415 dwindle. Compelled to support her family, which included a father suffering from kidney disease, May found herself in an increasingly desperate situation.
In Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, she encountered women known as “date girls,” who were earning double her income. Faced with bleak options, she reluctantly entered into prostitution over a year ago. “It’s hard to accept that despite all my years in medical training, I now have to resort to this to make ends meet,” she confided, wishing to remain anonymous for fear of her family discovering her situation, as prostitution is illegal in Myanmar.
The ongoing civil war has devastated Myanmar's economy further, with inflation reaching an alarming 26% this year. Factors such as power shortages have hindered industrial output, unseasonal rains have flooded farmlands, and conflict near borders with China and Thailand has disrupted trade significantly. The value of the currency, the kyat, has plummeted by nearly 40% against the dollar, leaving about half of Myanmar’s population living in poverty, according to the World Bank.
This dire economic landscape has led to an increasing number of women — from doctors and nurses to teachers — abandoning their respective professions in pursuit of survival through sex work.
