WOMEN AREN’T OBJECTS
In Thailand’s social hierarchy, women are considered lower than men. Should it then come as a surprise when an elderly rector of a leading university with a fetish for snapping photos of pretty air hostesses while they work — without their consent — decides to post the pictures on his Facebook for his male followers to drool over? As a Thai woman, I suppose not. However, given his esteemed position and age, one would have hoped for him to show some remorse when called out for his despicable act. There was no actual public apology, but more an explanation that brushed his actions off as unintentional, a misunderstanding, and not meant to offend anyone. The best he could say was that he stood corrected.
Despite not being surprised by his response, the fact that there was no apology to the multiple women he photographed without their knowledge truly disturbed me. This further perpetuates the fact that the practice of male chauvinistic entitlement in Thai society continues to rage unabated and can be found in both the upper and lower echelons of our communities.
The man in question is the now-former rector of Silpakorn University, Chaicharn Thavaravej, who had worked with the institution for two years before calling it quits after the fetishism and sexual misconduct allegations surfaced after an acquaintance of his outed him on social media.
The case, while not uncommon, highlights the mentality of a male-driven society that finds no harm in objectifying women.
Indulging in such behaviour for me is textbook sexual harassment and a blatant disregard for the basic rights of women, behaviour that by no means should be shrugged off by stating a common Thai belief that “men are butterflies, women are the hindlimb of an elephant”.
One would expect a resignation letter in such an incident to not be the end of the story and legal action swiftly taken, but I for one will not be waiting for this to happen for the simple reason that the male-dominated culture we live in has yet to seriously see the importance of promoting gender equality, let alone practice it.
The following research-based information pretty much sums up the situation. According to the 2020 UNDP Human Development Report, Thailand is ranked 80th in the Gender Inequality Index, 11 spots lower than it did in 2011.
Living in a culture that readily pardons sexist behaviour from men as being natural, women are always at a disadvantage in voicing their rights or having society fight for them.
Despite theoretically having legally advanced women’s rights and gender equality via its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1985, in reality, it is a very different scenario with gender-based violence dominating daily news headlines.
While there is a greater number of women in managerial posts today, and women that can access higher education, what is often swept under the rug is the sexual harassment and abuse many face on this journey.
They also have little to no power in bringing the perpetrator to justice for the simple reason that they are influential men that come in the guise of a trusted supervisor and friend, who needless to say don’t give two hoots about a woman’s sexual consent.
We need to admit that there has been a long history of East Asian and Southeast Asian women that are sexualised and portrayed as sexual objects by foreigners and local men alike. They are often seen as obedient and submissive, a stark contrast to Western women.
Objectifying women for sexual gratification has become ingrained in our culture to the point that it does not disturb most people’s conscience.
The fact today is that to be considered desirable to the opposite sex, many young women are pressured to have the perfect body and face. This encourages many to put themselves under the knife to achieve that attractive look, of course, at their peril.
I do believe that women have the right to do what they want with their bodies, however, the choice should not hinge on a clause that what she decides should be desirable is what a man deems beautiful.
Women are always at a disadvantage in voicing their rights
We have to seriously discuss sexual harassment in our society. Parents and schools have to put a greater focus on educating the youth on this matter, which starts by understanding what it constitutes.
Broadly speaking, there are three forms of sexual harassment women encounter — verbal sexual harassment, non-verbal sexual harassment, and physical sexual contact. Examples can include telling sexual jokes, requesting sexual favours, exposing oneself, any form of unwanted touching, and more.
Regardless of where the incident occurs, we know that sexual harassment in any form should not be tolerated and that survivors must be encouraged to speak up.
I believe we need to go back to the basics and focus on educating our youth on gender equality.
Schools have to encourage and teach young boys to respect the rights of the opposite sex, they need to learn about sexual consent.
We need to collectively create a culture where gender equality is truly practised. For that to happen role models are required to step up to the plate and instil values and practices that our youth will find worthwhile to follow.