Does Advocacy Matter? Women’s Advocacy Campaigns in Thailand Darunee Tantiwiramanond and Shashi Ranjan Pandey Occasional Studies Bangkok NOVEMBER 2008 Table of Contents ° Abstract 2 ° Context and Background 2 ° Actors and Agencies 4 ° Case Studies 12 ° Analysis 24 ° Suggestions 34 ° Concluding Remarks 38 ° Appendix 40 ° Bibliography 48 ° Endnotes 51 Initiated by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), this study aims to analyse the current status of the women’s movement in Thailand and to present suggestions to key stakeholders for their further advocacy work. FES would like to express its gratitude to Darunee Tantiwiramanond and Shashi Ranjan Pandey for their efforts in conducting this study. We do hope that the content will be useful for all stakeholders working on and for women empowerment and gender equality. Published by: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Tel: 0066-(0)2652-7178 to 9 Thanapoom Tower, 23rd Floor, Fax: 0066-(0)2652-7180 1550 New Petchburi Road http://www.fes-thailand.org Bangkok 10400
[email protected] Editor: Preeda Sirisawat Proof Reader: Patricia Norman © Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Does Advocacy Matter? Women’s Advocacy Campaigns in Thailand Abstract Since the political upheavals in the early 1990s, Thai women have been active and have achieved several successes in various advocacy campaigns. This paper provides an account of the role of women’s activism in four main campaigns—equal participation in decision making, constitutional amendment and draft, an end to violence against women, and 90-day maternity leave. It discusses the roles and activities of various groups/actors and their specific campaign strategies that brought about women-friendly legislative and policy changes.