New | Make the views of women count in a more open Myanmar

While many in and outside Myanmar question the quality of the democratic space being opened by the government after decades of military rule, a surge of new ideas is being allowed in the public sphere. And among the beneficiaries, finally, are women.

Myanmar's most famous icon may be female, but through five decades of a very masculine military stranglehold on the country, women have been invisible at the levels where decisions are made.

Its activists have been, at best, ignored; at worst, imprisoned or killed. So, last week's high-level international forum on women's leadership - the first in the country and with the support of the government - signalled a change of sorts. Hosted by the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society, and attended by political icon Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde and a range of international chief executives, it gave diverse women in the country one of their first chances for unfettered debate.

In doing so, Myanmar women were brought into one of the more divisive issues in developing democracies: quotas for women. Quotas are a temporary tool used to balance equality of opportunity, by allocating a percentage of positions to women in sectors from politics to peacekeeping. Critics claim they can lower the bar of ability or talent in a field and lead to the tarnishing of legitimately qualified women; advocates counter that, wielded well, they can break through institutional barriers, change minds and challenge stereotypes.

Yet, even though quotas featured in a government strategic plan for women's empowerment, launched in October, there has been little healthy debate on the issue. It was therefore incredibly heartening to hear the issue discussed at the public conference.

There, Suu Kyi's more conservative stance - softer pro-women measures such as boosting education for girls - was countered by questions asked by women from different sectors.