chookdee

There are currently around 50,000 Thai women married to German men, 30,000 married to French men, 30,000 to Americans, 25,000 to Australians, 10,000 to Britons, 8,742 to Swedes, 7,937 to Taiwanese, 3,000 to Austrians, 2,891 to Finns and 1,086 to Danes, according to statistics compiled by the Foreign Ministry.

The Thai government has signed treaties such as CEDAW and BPFA. Women
advocacy campaigns have affected many legislation processes. They are being
changed to comply with international discourse and standards. But there is a gap
between theory and practice. Also, these changes are not matched by resources.
Neglect of gender issues results costly services, both directly and indirectly, in terms of
loss of production, well being and sustainable development. There is a need for strong
civil society participation (both men and women) as well as multisector agents and
agencies. After legal changes, there are the challenges of healing society and dealing
with this change.
“Three things need to be done: popularising these legal changes as most women
are still not aware of these changes; empowering women so that they can
participate more, and bringing women into the decision making level, from
politics to trade unions.”
The progress the women’s advocacy movement has made in the past 20 years is
significant given the fact that, in Thailand, civil society is a new phenomenon and,
traditionally, women’s leadership has not been encouraged. Over this period, women
as ordinary people have gained confidence and have begun to rise up to demand
equal treatment and equal opportunity. The success shows the high potential of the
women’s advocacy movement and that women can be the loci of change for a better
society. But the weakness of the women’s movement lies in its weak capacity, weak
links and weak cooperation across classes and regions.
Thai women today have contributed to and influenced changes in social policies,
especially in the areas of wage labour, health, living conditions and quality of life.
However, they still face institutionalised gender discrimination and are currently still
fighting for equal rights in the areas of marriage, abortion, labour protection, politics
and religion. New educational and network opportunities, if provided, will aid women in
building better social networks, self-confidence and respectability. It is perhaps
women’s entry into formal politics and civil society, especially their work in NGOs, that
is making the most significant changes in women’s lives and the lives of their fellow
citizens.