Thailand: Roles and Challenges for Muslim Women in Southern Border Provinces

The report “Rules and Challenges for Malay Muslim Women in the Restive Southern Border Provinces of Thailand” was first presented at the Conference on Religious Activism & Women’s Development in Southeast Asia: Highlighting Impediments, Exploring Opportunities, organized by Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA), Singapore National University, on 20 November 2009. This report focuses on the roles of Malay Muslim women in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand who have to face life amidst problems, obstacles and difficulties in bringing up their families in a time when violence forces them to stand forward as leaders.

Angkhana Neelapaijit has written this report with the objective to draw a picture of the problems of women in various dimensions, including women affected by violence from governmental officials or by unidentified armed groups, women in families that have experienced enforced disappearance, and women who are in groups who use violence.

She also demonstrates the problems that Malay Muslim women must face as daughters, wives or mothers, the obstacles in accessing protective mechanisms from the use of Islamic law, the economic problems that women must face, and the problems of trafficking and domestic violence. In more than 5 years of human rights work in the Southern border provinces, WGJP has met amazing loving, sacrifice and forgiveness, as well as forbearance and hope in the restoration peace of among women in the midst of the violence. WGJP sincerely hopes that this small report will act to bolster the foundation of a new self-understanding and way of life of Malay Muslim women who are living on the remotest provinces. WGJP strongly believes that loving and faith in the goodness in every human heart will restore back peace.

Angkhana Neelapaijit

Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP)
May 2010

Download the full report in English below