International Women's Day
Celebrating InternationalWomensDay, we invite you to watch the live recording of the International Women’s Day Film Talk 2025: Breaking Barriers, Redefining Norms.
This event was organized by UNDP, the Thai Women Parliamentarians Caucus, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Democracy, Thammasat University, SF Corporation Public Company Limited, and Mirror Thailand on March 7th.
During the event, Khun Hua Nachale Boonyapisomparn, Vice President of the Transgender Alliance for Human Rights Foundation, participated in a panel discussion, highlighting three key moments that illustrate the ongoing struggle for gender diversity rights:
2005: Challenging Stigmatizing Military ClassificationA transgender woman filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Defense in the Administrative Court after being classified as having “permanent mental derangement” on her Sor. Dor. 43 document, which created obstacles in job applications. The court ruled in her favor, ordering the Ministry of Defense to amend the classification to “having a body that does not match the birth sex,” eliminating stigmatizing language against transgender individuals.
2008: The Fight for Title RecognitionThailand enacted the Title Act, allowing cisgender women to choose between “Mrs.” or “Miss.” However, transgender women were excluded from this right. Feminist advocates who fought for the Title Act hosted a seminar advocating for transgender women to have the right to change their titles. For 17 years, transgender women have continued to push for legal recognition and the right to choose the titles they wish to use.
2015: Gender Equality Act and Its ChallengesThailand passed the Gender Equality Act, aiming to protect gender-diverse individuals from discrimination. However, the law contains loopholes that limit its effectiveness. A decade later, there is still a need to assess how this legislation is applied and how it can further gender equality beyond the male-female binary.
As the global landscape shifts and opposition to gender diversity grows in some countries and states, as reflected in recent news, the fight for true equality demands cross-movement collaboration. This struggle is larger than any single group—it is part of a broader, evolving global challenge.
