Learning feminism before knowing its name: Verse’s story from Myanmar

Verse, a Burmese filmmaker, left traditional journalism in 2018 after experiencing systemic gender discrimination that prevented her from covering political assignments, subsequently transitioning to women's rights advocacy and filmmaking. Her feminist worldview was shaped by her grandmother, a Rakhine businesswoman who defied gender norms by running a sawmill and teaching Verse that gender should never limit opportunity. After attending Yangon Film School in 2020, where she successfully advocated for the institution's first sexual harassment policy following a discriminatory incident, Verse began creating films that center marginalized women's experiences.