Law Commons^™

Militarization And Terrorism And Counter- Terrorism Measures In Thailand: Feminists And Women Human Rights Defenders, Virada Somswasdi

Cornell Law School Berger International Speaker Papers

Women human rights defenders need to work closely with feminist human rights defenders; both groups must empower each other and promote gender-sensitization of other members of the rights movements against militarization.

Despite the fact that women’s human rights defenders in the women’s movements have brought about some positive legal changes for women’s human rights, there are political, economic and social patriarchal contexts, especially through militarization, that obstruct ideal legislation and enforcement to cover all areas which have been identified in international instruments, especially the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination against Women and the Declaration on the Elimination of …

The Power Of Law And Women's Presence In The Thaksin Era, Virada Somswasdi

Cornell Law School Berger International Speaker Papers

The term "law" as used here depicts consistency in ideology, intent, presumption and the imposition of definitions on day-to-day human relations, including male-female relations. The power of law is the process of definition, which takes precedence over experiences, and also takes precedence over the meaning that women give to their own lives.

This paper refutes a rigid division of issues within law and adopts a feminist perspective, rather than that of the mainstream structure. Issues identified as significant by the women’s movement are thus emphasized. I do not refer to law as the only tool feminists need to resort to …

Legalization Of Prostitution In Thailand: A Challenge To Feminism And Societal Conscience, Virada Somswasdi

Cornell Law School Berger International Speaker Papers

Thai society and the feminist movement have been bombarded with the (ir)rationality of economic greed, social ignorance and a patriarchal frame of thinking on the legalization of prostitution. Feminist ideology and societal conscience are hence being tested all over again. The issue of prostitution has been reduced to an issue of taxation for state income generation. Basically, the issue of legalizing prostitution is twofold, i.e., the decriminalization of prostituted women and the legalization of prostitution or decriminalization of the sex industry. The first of these points perceives that the prostituted women are victimized, exploited and violated, and thus should not …