“ Many families know the journey to another country has huge risks, but they try it anyway. People think if they are lucky on their journey, their families in Rakhine will have support to survive. The risk of being arrested on the route and sentenced to two to five years in prison does not stop them. The risk of rape does not stop them. Even the risk of death does not stop families from making these decisions. It’s the limitations and restrictions here in Rakhine that makes them take the risks ROHINGYA WOMAN TEACHER IN RAKHINE INTRODUCTION Rohingya communities have been arbitrarily deprived of their nationality and persecuted in Myanmar, while also being denied adequate protection as refugees and stateless people in neighbouring countries. At the centre of their insecurities and vulnerabilities, is the denial of their legal status as citizens in Myanmar, and as refugees and stateless people elsewhere. For over 30 years, Rohingyas in Myanmar have been subject to oppressive registration and administrative systems, discriminatory policies and systems of impunity, which have imposed severe restrictions on movement, segregated Rohingyas in pockets of Rakhine State, and severely limited Rohingyas’ access to livelihoods and income earning opportunities. This has created food insecurities and poverty, leaving Rohingya households vulnerable to external shocks, including conflict, disease, and political upheaval. Since Min Aung Hlaing’s coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021,1 which installed the State Administration Council (SAC) regime, Rohingya communities have been further negatively impacted by increased militarisation, conflict, and power struggles between SAC and Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) in the region. Greater restrictions of movement, checkpoints and administrative costs following the coup have created new layers of insecurities for Rohingya households, driving them into poverty and leaving them vulnerable to human rights abuses from parallel/quasi state bodies. Intersectional forms of discrimination mean that Rohingya women and girls are particularly impacted in Rakhine State. Increased vulnerabilities for Rohingya women and girls compel them to leave their homes in Rakhine State to seek security and stability in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, as well as in Bangladesh, India and beyond. Compounded by the precariousness of their situations at home, experiences of forced migration can quickly turn to violence, exploitation and extortion during the journey or at the destination stage. This paper is focused on the situation in Myanmar and explores the structural factors that drive Rohingya women and girls to take dangerous journeys in search of safety and security, as well as the different forms of abuse and exploitation they encounter en route in Myanmar. This is ISI’s first Rohingya briefing paper to focus on women and girls. It will be followed by papers that will also consider the situation for Rohingya women and girls in destination and transit countries. The paper draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants in Rakhine state and elsewhere in Myanmar as well as in refugee situations in Bangladesh. Participants were selected as those that have both first-hand experience of the issues and an in-depth knowledge of how these issues impact Rohingyas at the community level. They include community leaders, teachers and those working on gender-based violence, paralegal support and other roles and positions within the community which provide them with an overview of the situation. The interviews are mostly with Rohingya and Kaman women,2 but also include some men working in community support roles. The names, exact locations and identifying features of all interviewees have been withheld to protect their personal security. Further information, details of places and identifying factors have been removed where they were deemed sensitive or where claims could not be substantiated. The interviews are supplemented with information gathered from other pieces of qualitative research conducted by the authors on the situation in Rakhine State, Myanmar, as well as desk-based research. This paper does not provide an extensive overview of the situation, rather it is intended to provide a snapshot of some of the issues faced by Rohingya and other displaced Muslim communities in Rakhine and their own framings and understandings of the situation. Whilst efforts have been made to cross-check information against other published and unpublished research, it is not possible to verify information relating to individual cases due to access issues in the current conflict context in Myanmar. For ethical reasons, no testimonies were taken from survivors of sexual violence or trafficking for this research, many of whom continue to suffer from the trauma of their experiences and, in Myanmar, are mostly unable to access adequate psychosocial support. This paper is dived into four parts. Firstly, the background provides information on the historic context that has given rise to the insecurities and immobilities experienced 3