Prise open the old boys' club

EDITORIAL

Published: 5 Oct 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

In the past week, village heads and kamnan across the country have been staging protests against the government's attempts to limit their tenure to five years instead of retirement at 60. One thing is glaringly missing in their protests _ women.

Yes, theirs are the protests of the old boys' club trying to protect their turf against democratic incursions. Their protests should not only alert us of the need to bring village heads and kamnan in line with the times, but also the urgency of increasing the number of women in local administration.

According to the Office of Gender Equality Promotion, Ministry of Social Development and Social Security, women comprise only 4.5% of village heads and kamnan nationwide.

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jacksprat
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Discussion 10 : 05 Oct 2012 at 23.4810
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These are elected positions and the power they have in their villages in amazing. It is not surprising that certain local families have dominated the offices and do not want to give up that control. For once I agree with the government.
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joninnak
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Discussion 9 : 05 Oct 2012 at 11.479
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I was employed by a labour controlled large council in the UK. It was suggested that the number of women employees was far fewer than men, so, for a couple of years, through the "politically correct" idiom, no new men employees could be seen. Even the very large union NALGO agreed with the idea. I see this as where the right man/woman for the job was interfered with.
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dao
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Discussion 8 : 05 Oct 2012 at 10.038
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Thailand under elected women only ? It would be interesting .It definitely would be an improvement .
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Ian
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Discussion 7 : 05 Oct 2012 at 08.407
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I agree with several others here, women are the power behind the throne. My village boss is a man, but his boss is his wife, and everyone knows it.
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commonman
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Discussion 6 : 05 Oct 2012 at 08.026
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Aussie John: I believe you are doing a bit of dreaming. I once suggested to my wife that I thought Isan people were generally more honest and less likely to rip you off than Bangkok folks. Acc. to her, I was dreaming, too.
As for women in office - my brother-in-law is phuyai ban in his village, but it is his wife who wanted the job and who probably calls most of the shots. How many Thai men do you think are similarly controlled by their wives? Thai women usually handle the money and the finances (for good reason) and even dole out money to the mias.
In America it's the economy, stupid. Here it's the culture of the society, ding-dong.
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amazed
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Discussion 5 : 05 Oct 2012 at 07.265
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As Disc. 3 indicates, a quota system is not the way to go. And, it seems that I see a lot of embezzlement charges brought against women because they are often in charge of the books. But it does seem that women have an advantage in working with other people and being more diplomatic than men. They also are more open to listening to others and better at keeping an open mind when problem solving. Of course, if a man is controlling the woman, none of this applies beyond the appearance of those qualities.
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khunbj
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Discussion 4 : 05 Oct 2012 at 06.404
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Of course they don't like the change that the Government want to introduce, however appointed and lifetime positions are not easy keep accountable, if they are elected (assuming that will be the case) every 5 years at least the voters can change them if they want to. And yes we need more women in these position.
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onlyasking
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Discussion 3 : 05 Oct 2012 at 06.273
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In my country of birth theres a law that 50% of all MP's must be women. The result of this is that people get to be MP's that should not be MP's. Governments role should be to eliminate all laws that discriminate against women, they should actively promote the role of women in society and they should change societies perception and attitudes towards women. When choosing someone for public office the question should not be the gender of the person but the ability of the person to do the job.
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spicy
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Discussion 2 : 05 Oct 2012 at 06.072
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Discussion 1: re;
In all the years I've been here I don't see any difference in corruption between men and women. I think it is in their genes.
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Aussie John
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Discussion 1 : 05 Oct 2012 at 04.461
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Could it be women are less proned to corruption or am I dreaming.
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Prise open the old boys' club | Bangkok Post: opinion