"WHAT IF Mya Mya, the lead character of the Myanmar horror film of the same name, released on February 6, were to enact revenge on the men who gang-raped her, not by menacing them as a forlorn ghost, but by seeking justice as a tenacious survivor? For the moment, such a plot turn appears to be beyond the imagination of Myanmar filmmakers, who are virtually all male and prefer to portray women rape victims as either killed in the act or driven inexorably to suicide by the shame. Their death, after all, provides a handy motive for male lead characters to avenge them in thrilling feats of heroism. One thing that saves the character of Mya Mya – a feisty Yangon factory worker and strike-organiser before her death – from further humiliation is that, while haunting the men who raped and murdered her, she does not do so half-naked, despite what the film’s titillating promotional poster might suggest. However, this is small consolation when the making of the film itself was a feat of sexual exploitation. When the casting call for the three “rapist” roles was made last July on Facebook, many male users tagged their friends, saying with boorish humour that their friends would make good “rapists” and encouraging them to apply. Auditions for short-listed aspirants took place on September 8 in Yangon’s Kandawgyi Park in full view of the media and public..."