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The young women putting PDF recruits through their paces

Female instructors have been instrumental in turning the MDY-PDF into the formidable fighting force that it is today

“More sweat in training means less blood on the battlefield!”—with this chant, a group of young people carrying rifles runs in formation around a dusty training ground.

These trainees are new members of the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF), an armed resistance group waging a determined offensive against Myanmar’s military junta. Leading them in the chant are their uniformed instructors—all women around 20 years of age.

When the military seized power nearly four years ago, women were often at the forefront of the protests that erupted around the country. But as the effort to restore civilian rule turned into an armed struggle, women began to play a less visible—but no less vital—role in the resistance movement.

Ta Ta was just 15 when the February 2021 coup turned her world upside down. Like countless others, she joined the protests, and later acted as a. . .

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