Thailand was once regarded as one of the most progressive in fostering gender equality. It was the second country in Asia to grant women the right to vote, as far back as 1932. A recent report, “Freedom in the World 2024”, however, shows that women in Thailand remain overlooked in politics and government at all levels.

Move Forward Party MPs Wuttipong Thonglour and Chaiyamparwaan Manpianjit were expelled from the party after it was decided by the party’s disciplinary board that they had sexually harassed party volunteers.

Denouncing sexual violence, demanding abortion reform and destigmatising sex work –- once-taboo issues are finding public expression in Thailand as women take up leadership roles in a youth-led pro-democracy movement.

On the protest frontlines, they are urging for gender equality in a kingdom where workplaces and politics are still dominated by men.

On the night police tried to stop protesters from marching to the Thai parliament, activist Chonticha Jangrew remembers rallying them to push past the barricades.

Young women in politics are still looked down upon as being inexperienced, while their ability to perform roles is often questioned, a forum was told on Wednesday.

Speaking at a discussion organised by the Thai Journalists Association, deputy government spokeswoman, Rachada Dhnadirek said parliament has appointed a working team to work on the issue of promoting gender equality.

As Thai women struggle to establish a foothold in the politics of a nation that ranks among the worst in the world for sex parity in government leadership, news outlets in the West are cheering on the progressiveness of men attaining political positions while wearing culturally feminine attire and the label “women” as their identity.