Angkhana Neelapaijit, chairperson of Justice for Peace Foundation, said. Thailands response [to the United Nations on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action on gender equality and womens empowerment] doesnt touch on women in conflict areas, despite the fact that many women [in the deep South] are facing many problems. Yet the government claims theres no armed conflict in the country, 48 Thai Buddhist women have been killed in armed conflicts this year alone in the three southernmost provinces, Thai Buddhist women are most at risk. Muslim women in the deep South, meanwhile, face a different kind of threat. Often times, Thai-Malay women do not enjoy equal access to gender-based justice guaranteed by Thai law, a case in which a 12-year-old girl had to flee her village after a 40-year-old man approached her and made it appear as if they were having a relationship, which led to community members pressuring the girl into marrying the man. Thai authorities often refused to intervene to protect Muslim womens rights, citing religious strictures of Islam. But the Koran states that nobody should marry against their will, nationmultimedia/webmobile/national/Gender-equality-still-not-substantive-30248145.html
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 02:04:49 +0000