Thai politics is a man’s world. How can we change that?
Source: The Nation
By Kornrawee Panyasuppakun,
Former MP Arja Alho offers lessons from a pioneer of political gender equality.
Despite making up just over half Thailand’s population, women have almost disappeared entirely from political decision-making under the junta. When the military ousted the country’s first female prime minister in 2014, women occupied 15.8 per cent of seats in Parliament. Now female lawmakers account for less than 5 per cent of seats in the National Assembly, the lowest in Asia and one of the lowest in the world.
On a recent visit to Thailand, former Finland MP Arja Alho offered lessons on how to boost gender equality in politics from a country where women occupy over 40 per cent of parliament. Alho, a 64-year-old political veteran, talked to The Nation’s Kornrawee Panyasuppakun.
How did you get into politics?
I graduated as a nurse and ran the organisation of student nurses. This led to my being nominated as a candidate for parliament and I was elected in 1983. At 28, I was considered a young MP at that time. I think the reason I was elected was that students were on my side – so were the nurses. They wanted their voices to be heard.
Click here to read the full article published by The Nation on 21 March 2019.
By Kornrawee Panyasuppakun,
Former MP Arja Alho offers lessons from a pioneer of political gender equality.
Despite making up just over half Thailand’s population, women have almost disappeared entirely from political decision-making under the junta. When the military ousted the country’s first female prime minister in 2014, women occupied 15.8 per cent of seats in Parliament. Now female lawmakers account for less than 5 per cent of seats in the National Assembly, the lowest in Asia and one of the lowest in the world.
On a recent visit to Thailand, former Finland MP Arja Alho offered lessons on how to boost gender equality in politics from a country where women occupy over 40 per cent of parliament. Alho, a 64-year-old political veteran, talked to The Nation’s Kornrawee Panyasuppakun.
How did you get into politics?
I graduated as a nurse and ran the organisation of student nurses. This led to my being nominated as a candidate for parliament and I was elected in 1983. At 28, I was considered a young MP at that time. I think the reason I was elected was that students were on my side – so were the nurses. They wanted their voices to be heard.
Click here to read the full article published by The Nation on 21 March 2019.