About Women’s rights

Whenever I hear stories or cases of domestic violence in women and children, I feel depressed and heartened. In Thailand, we are quite lucky as there is a support mechanism provided by NGOs for victims of domestic violence. However, the response and support of Thai justice system to the domestic violence victims is rather slow despite the fact that Thailand has passed a The Domestic Violent Victim Protection Act, B.E. 2550, some time ago.

Another major influence of the continuance of domestic violence issue in Thailand is the fundamentally patriarchal attitude of the society that manifests itself in all issues as gender inequality - for example, an inadequate budget allocation for all women and girls in comparison with the males. 

In addition to domestic violence against women , there is also the serious issue of human trafficking of women and girls across Southeast Asian countries. All countries in the SE have formed a collaboration to address the human trafficking issue. Young girls should have been in schools and had better options for their future, are being trafficked across borders and are forced to work in brothels.

In the 100th commemoration of International Women’s Day in Thailand on March 8, 2011, the women workers have requested women across the globe to demand  better treatment, a better living and working standard for all women. This will be recorded in the history of the women fighting for women’s rights, gender equality, and better opportunity for women to fully participate in the decision-making.