AK
Feb 07, 2026
“They sit down directly in front of the female workers they like and stare at them the entire working day until the women agree to their proposal,” a female worker from the Jafon factory who personally witnessed the situation told Myanmar Labour News.
Jafon (Jetpon Handbag Company Limited) is a factory owned by Chinese nationals, located in Bago Region, Bago Industrial Zone, Plot No. (3), Nagawun Road, near the Great Number Compound. The factory employs nearly 400 workers in total.
It is reported that the factory manufactures handbags for internationally renowned Italian luxury brand Gucci, as well as brands such as IPSY and GLAM BAG.
The factory has been officially registered with the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) since 2019 under the name Jafon Beauty Company Limited and continues operating to this day.
After the military coup, restrictions on public access to company information at DICA mean that the company is known only as a foreign-owned enterprise, and the identities of its responsible persons remain unknown.
However, according to data from the trade information website Trademo, the company mainly exports its products to the United States.
The company carried out up to 91 export shipments, with a total value exceeding USD 6.89 million from January 2022 to September 2025.
According to a female worker, factory management allows their friends and acquaintances to enter the workplace and select female workers to make offers for them to become Chinese “contract wives.”
She stated that this has not happened just once or twice, but at least four times during last January and this February alone.
“The factory’s behavior like this makes us female workers feel frightened and ashamed,” the worker said, describing her sense of insecurity.
She added that the factory treats female workers as if they were goods laid out for sale at a market.
In addition to allowing such practices, factory supervisors reportedly act as brokers, receiving matchmaking or intermediary fees, and entice young women using false and misleading statements.
They persuade the women to accept the Chinese men by saying things such as, “The bride price is not small,” “There’s no need to care about others,” and “When you’re struggling, no one feeds you, so don’t consider for anyone else.”
Due to pressures such as job security and other forms of coercion, female workers are unable to speak out about these issues.
Labour organizations that assist with cases of labor rights violations told Myanmar Labour News that this matter is not only a labor rights violation but also constitutes a criminal offense.
Photo (2): Jafon Beauty Company information displayed on DICA
Photo (3): Trade figures displayed on the Trademo website
Photo (4)–(5): Female workers seen inside the Jafon (Jetpon Handbag Company Limited) factory workplace
