Like many women involved in fisheries, Win Chewa Htun (not her actual name) faces a world of gender barriers that have only been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hailing from Myanmar’s Shan State, Win purchases fresh fish from Inle Lake to dry and then sells the preserved fish onwards for profit. While such value-added fish products are a key way for women to earn money along fish supply chains, there is little protection or support for them in times of shocks, and even less recognition of specific gendered consequences of the pandemic. Here, Win talks about her challenges as a woman aquatic food processor and how she overcomes them.
