Activist raises questions on rights after transgender teacher gets ‘very low’ marks

By The Nation

 

 

A transgender teacher’s assistant at a school in the Northeast has been subjected to discrimination to such an extent that it has affected her welfare and promotion, Thai activist Nada Chaivajit claimed in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

 

Teacher’s assistant Ukrit Jadsanam may be out of civil service due to “very” low marks in her evaluation, which she believes stem from her supervisor/school director’s bias because they cannot accept the fact that Ukrit insists on wearing a woman’s uniform. She believes wearing women’s clothing is within her rights backed by the Constitution and the 2015 Gender Equality Act. 

 

The price she has paid in trying to maintain her identity has included “unfair” accusations and pressure and even being called “living garbage” in a group chat, Nada quoted Ukrit as saying. Nada also said that Ukrit has agreed to reveal her identity because she was ready to fight for justice. 

 

Ukrit said she had received a formal warning over an alleged inappropriate act that she could not have committed because she wasn’t there – her absence was further proved by her cellphone signal. The letter also accused her of setting a bad example through her choice of clothing and hairstyle. 

 

The warning was followed by “very” low marks in her evaluation, which Nada said will translate into Ukrit not being able hold down a job in the civil sector. During her five-day evaluation, Ukrit was reportedly given many reasons on how she wasn’t suitable to be a teacher and every time the assessment ended with the comment: “A gender-type like yours is not acceptable by anyone.”

 

Ukrit was also pressured into agreeing to sign a constent to undergo “behavioural improvement”, which requires her to wear appropriate clothes and have a hairstyle that is suitable to a teacher in a state school according to the Prime Minister’s Office regulations and the Government Teacher and Education Personnel Act. She was also threatened with disciplinary punishment.

 

Nada also said that among 28 schoolteachers, Ukrit was the only one to get a mere 1 per cent salary increment, which translate to just Bt180. 

 

“Are we going to allow this to happen to a fellow human? A person who has the knowledge and ability to teach to young generations? Is her human dignity so low that a school executive can call her ‘living garbage’?” the activist asked in her post.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373269

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-19

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If true, this is disgraceful. Discrimination against transgenders is a common problem around the world. At a community level, Thailand is one of the most accepting countries I have experienced in terms of transgenders. However, perhaps because of the way they are portrayed in the media, they are often looked down on and treated as a laughing stock. And because class discrimination is so entrenched across all levels of Thai society, this is allowed to manifest itself more openly and in ways that would never be accepted overseas. Top marks to this brave woman for standing up for herself.

We've only heard one side of the story. However, if this teacher really was told by her assessors that "A gender-type like yours is not acceptable by anyone" then the valuation system is clearly flawed.

' A gender -type like yours is not acceptable by anyone '.  Not sure if I count as anyone , such a sweeping statement.

not so sure it is discrimination as much as jealousy. she is better looking than their wives and has a bigger penis than any of them to boot; more likely. 

"Thai activist Nada Chaivajit claimed in a Facebook post"

 

Thats the basis of the article?? What a poor excuse for "journalism" once again. 

Or, it could be the dude deserves the low marks and is just using all that groovy metoo-style PR to get 'em up. That's the standard these days.

6 hours ago, bangkokfrog said:

If true, this is disgraceful. Discrimination against transgenders is a common problem around the world. At a community level, Thailand is one of the most accepting countries I have experienced in terms of transgenders. However, perhaps because of the way they are portrayed in the media, they are often looked down on and treated as a laughing stock. And because class discrimination is so entrenched across all levels of Thai society, this is allowed to manifest itself more openly and in ways that would never be accepted overseas. Top marks to this brave woman for standing up for herself.

It's a bloke, as per his birth certificate. 

How bizarre!! I always thought that the Thais were very tolerant of all genders no matter what? 

 

I mean ladyboys abound, you invariably get the effeminate guy wearing female attire and camping it up on almost every program on TV, there are even cabaret shows and beauty contests, so whats with the prudes at this particular educational establishment?

 

Amazing Thailand.  

as this is just hearsay its a bit hard to tell what the truth is, this person could be  really bad at their job as an assistant teacher and is pissed off they got a low mark so are claiming its discrimination, until the proof is shown no one really knows exactly why they got a low mark and if it was fair or deserved

 

I would not want a ladyboy teacher (assistant) as a role model for my kids. Can understand the discrimination. Problem seems to lie in the fact that because one is legally allowed to pretend to be what one is not, ie, a man dressing as a woman, the thinking that it's perfectly ok. It might be ok on Saturday night in town but not Monday morning in school. Hence HIS very low grades,

1 minute ago, Layla111 said:

I would not want a ladyboy teacher (assistant) as a role model for my kids. Can understand the discrimination. Problem seems to lie in the fact that because one is legally allowed to pretend to be what one is not, ie, a man dressing as a woman, the thinking that it's perfectly ok. It might be ok on Saturday night in town but not Monday morning in school. Hence HIS very low grades,

What about an obvious homosexual male, complete with lisp and slightly applied make up?

The majority of most rational people of whichever gender don't need to flaunt their sexuality, especially in front of impressionable children. 

4 minutes ago, Layla111 said:

impressionable children

Unfortunately children learn from people like you.

Rational ?

In my experience children are more accepting of diversity than many adults, they learn discrimination and bigotry from home and close relatives.

They also learn acceptance and tolerance of diversity from home.

Any person should only be assessed on their professional performance, and compliance with  relevant government statutory requirements to carry out their assigned role.

 

On 7/20/2019 at 10:57 AM, Krataiboy said:

We've only heard one side of the story. However, if this teacher really was told by her assessors that "A gender-type like yours is not acceptable by anyone" then the valuation system is clearly flawed.

Or she just failed the oral test?

Toss a coin on this one.

 

It might be discrimination or it could be that she’s just a terrible teacher, like all the rest of them.

1 minute ago, dcnx said:

Toss a coin on this one.

 

It might be discrimination or it could be that she’s just a terrible teacher, like all the rest of them.

An independent assessor would sort the discrimination matter, or a recording of what is alleged to have been verbalised to her

We don't have enough information here to know what has actually been the basis for the low rating, so speculation is meaningless. There are ways to determine whether discrimination has occurred. Some questions that need to be answered: how long had she been a teacher's assistant?; during that time had there been any performance conferences where problems with work standards were discussed?, etc.. I know that there's a lot of joking around on this forum, and I participate in that regularly, but mean-spirited, off-the-cuff comments in this instance and others like it regarding somebody's civil rights are distasteful. 

On 7/20/2019 at 4:41 AM, seajae said:

this person could be  really bad at their job as an assistant teacher and is pissed off they got a low mark so are claiming its discrimination, until the proof is shown no one really knows exactly why they got a low mark

Where are the "they" you specify when starting out with only a single person?

'nuf sed.

Could be a dud teachers assistance, could be outright discrimination, certainly insufficient info supplied to make an informed decision, but luckily not everyone needs good information to make fully informed rational judgements. 

1 hour ago, wotsdermatter said:

Where are the "they" you specify when starting out with only a single person?

'nuf sed.

Wrong - - - there is no gender-neutral singular third person pronoun, so "they" is used, may not be grammatically correct - but used and accepted. 

'nuf sed. 

On 7/20/2019 at 12:03 PM, Thaiwrath said:

It's a bloke, as per his birth certificate. 

Unfortunately it didn't take long for that unnecessary comment to surface. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Layla111 said:

The majority of most rational people of whichever gender don't need to flaunt their sexuality, especially in front of impressionable children. 

So every woman who dresses in women's clothes is flaunting her sexuality?

1 hour ago, wotsdermatter said:

Where are the "they" you specify when starting out with only a single person?

'nuf sed.

The singular usage of "they" dates back hundreds of years. Go back to school.

3 hours ago, Layla111 said:

The majority of most rational people of whichever gender don't need to flaunt their sexuality, especially in front of impressionable children. 

Can you please tell me where in the article it says she is "flaunting" her sexuality? It just says she chose to dress appropriate with the gender she identifies with. Should we all be required to dress in an androgynous way?

5 hours ago, HLover said:

What about an obvious homosexual male, complete with lisp and slightly applied make up?

That could well be someone's problem, hence the bitchy remark 

 

6 hours ago, Layla111 said:

I would not want a ladyboy teacher (assistant) as a role model for my kids. Can understand the discrimination. Problem seems to lie in the fact that because one is legally allowed to pretend to be what one is not, ie, a man dressing as a woman, the thinking that it's perfectly ok. It might be ok on Saturday night in town but not Monday morning in school. Hence HIS very low grades,

Respectfully, a little bit of research on your part would show that gender identity is much much more than a man dressing as a woman, or a woman as a man.

Great! Never give up, Nada!! This country needs a lot more people like you who stand up! ( Photo from her/his FB page)