Taking on the heavy hand of militarism

Taking on the heavy hand of militarism

Merit-making with monastics is part of our Buddhist culture. Since Bangkok temples are already bursting with donations, I headed for a nunnery in the neighbourhood over the weekend. Women in pursuit of a spiritual life need support too, don't they?

Mae Chee Choojai Pathumnand, of Ratanapaiboon Nunnery, was waiting at the premises with a big smile. "Come see this first," she said, leading me to an adjacent construction site where a three-storey building is taking shape. "Soon we nuns will have our permanent home without fear of being evicted," she said.

Since its establishment 46 years ago under royal patronage, the Thai Nuns Institute has been allowed to use a small quarters at Bowon Niwet temple as its centre. When the Supreme Patriarch passed away, the new abbot told the nuns to pack up and leave.

The Thai Buddhist clergy opposes female ordination, insisting that Bhikkhuni lineage in Theravada Buddhism is long extinct. Any monks who support Bhikkhuni ordination also face the threat of punishment.

To show the clergy is not discriminating against women, the elders cited support for white-robed, head-shaven nuns and their organisation as proof of their "compassion". The eviction, as sad and infuriating as it may be, finally reveals what the clergy no longer wants to hide -- its disdain for women and the deep-rooted violence against women in Thai Buddhist culture.

My emphasis is on the word culture -- the patriarchal, militaristic culture that dominates the centralised clerical body with its military-like organisation and top-down authority which it uses to silence dissent. Since militarism is at one with sexism, monks think nothing of teaching that women are born inferior to men. An elder once told me women cannot attain spiritual liberation until they are born men first.

What about gays and transgender people, you may ask? It is the same with their other teachings which endorse society's rigid hierarchy and inequality; you are the way you are now because of your own bad karma in your past life. So, tough luck.

When we talk about violence against women, sexual violence in different physical forms usually comes to the fore. Rape, marital rape, date rape, sexual harassment, wife-beating, and female genital mutilation, for example. 

Abortion, which the clergy and society treat as a moral issue, is a clear case of violence against women. When you use religious teachings to condemn women with unplanned pregnancies and to withhold help, resulting in deaths from unsafe abortions -- all the while making the survivors feel guilty for life -- if this is not violence, what is?

Those forms of violence need to be ended. But if we don't question the underlying cultural values behind them, do we have any chance of ending those problems at all? How many more girls, women, and other genders have to be subjected to patriarchal control and oppression?

To be fair, the clergy is not the only institution under the spell of patriarchy and militarism. Look at our education system. Look at how schools train our children to submit to authority and to stop questioning if they want to gain social acceptance. Look at how universities defend the hazing culture as a tool to foster institutional loyalty and respect for seniority.

The family too. A child's obedience is seen as parenting success while children are still viewed as parents' property subject to control. And the bureaucracy. The mandarins exercise top-down, military-style control to impose policies and projects on the populace. They also oppose decentralisation because military-style control and power serve them best.

With the military now at the political helm, militarism is on the rise. The clergy is demanding more power through national religion status and is no longer discreet in its hostility to Muslims. The bureaucracy is using military power to push megaprojects down people's throats. The education system is intensifying military values of total obedience. 

To open up society, Thailand must turn its back on military rule. But it is not enough. We must also address the oppressive values of patriarchy and militarism that various institutions are putting in our heads to retain their power. 

For me, that starts with questioning the monks' teachings, that the worthiest people to make merit with are monks. When we start giving female monastics equal respect and support, when we no longer believe that women are inferior, the wall of gender discrimination will eventually crumble.  


Sanitsuda Ekachai is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post. 

Sanitsuda Ekachai

Former editorial pages editor

Sanitsuda Ekachai is a former editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post. She writes on human rights, gender, and Thai Buddhism.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (2)