Myanmar is the only Buddhism-majority country in the world that has developed and maintained a system of family law for Buddhists enforced by the courts. This article considers the construction of Burmese Buddhist law by lawyers, judges, and legislators, and the changes made through legislative intervention in 2015. It begins by addressing the creation and contestation of Burmese Buddhist law to demonstrate that it has largely been defined by men and by its perceived opposites, Hinduism and Islam. Three aspects of Burmese Buddhist law that affect women are then examined more closely. First, Burmese Buddhist law carries no penalties for men who commit adultery, although women may risk divorce and the loss of her property. Second, a man can take more than one wife under Burmese Buddhist law; a woman cannot. Third, restrictions on Buddhist women who marry non-Buddhist men operate to ensure the primacy of Burmese Buddhist law over the potential application of Islamic law. This article deconstructs the popular claim that women are better off under Burmese Buddhist law than under Hindu law or Islamic law by showing how Burmese Buddhist law has been preoccupied with regulating the position of women. The 2015 laws build on this history of Burmese Buddhist law, creating new problems, but also potentially operating as a new source of revenge.

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滥交、一夫多妻和复仇的力量：缅甸佛教法律的过去和未来

缅甸是世界上唯一一个为佛教徒制定并维持由法院强制执行的家庭法体系的佛教占多数的国家。本文探讨了律师、法官和立法者对缅甸佛教法律的建构，以及 2015 年通过立法干预所带来的变化。它首先解决缅甸佛教法律的创造和争论，以证明它在很大程度上是由男性和通过其感知的对立面，印度教和伊斯兰教。缅甸佛教法律中影响女性的三个方面随后得到了更仔细的研究。首先，缅甸佛教法律对通奸的男性没有任何处罚，尽管女性可能会面临离婚和财产损失的风险。其次，根据缅甸佛教法律，一个男人可以娶一个以上的妻子；一个女人不能。第三，对嫁给非佛教男性的佛教女性的限制是为了确保缅甸佛教法律的优先地位高于伊斯兰法律的潜在应用。本文通过展示缅甸佛教法律如何专注于规范女性的地位，解构了缅甸佛教法律下女性比印度教法律或伊斯兰法律更好的流行说法。2015 年的法律以缅甸佛教法律的历史为基础，制造了新的问题，但也可能成为报复的新来源。本文通过展示缅甸佛教法律如何专注于规范女性的地位，解构了缅甸佛教法律下女性比印度教法律或伊斯兰法律更好的流行说法。2015 年的法律以缅甸佛教法律的历史为基础，制造了新的问题，但也可能成为报复的新来源。本文通过展示缅甸佛教法律如何专注于规范女性的地位，解构了缅甸佛教法律下女性比印度教法律或伊斯兰法律更好的流行说法。2015 年的法律以缅甸佛教法律的历史为基础，制造了新的问题，但也可能成为报复的新来源。