Thai Govt Criticized For Lack Of Action On Women's Problems

[webfact]

Govt criticized for lack of action on women's problems
Chuleeporn Aramnet
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The government has failed to deliver a social security scheme and social welfare services that best respond to the needs of women, a seminar was told yesterday.

The seminar was held by the State Enterprises Workers Relations' Confederation and the Friends of Women Foundation.

Integrated Female Labour Group's chair Thanaporn Wijan said the government had not paid enough attention to solving women's problems, especially those regarding social security and social welfare.

"We have made several pleas before but to no avail," she said, "This has happened even though the current prime minister is a woman".

The seminar was titled, "Female labour and women's access to social security schemes and social welfare".

Thanaporn said her group and supporters planned to submit another petition to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on International Women's Day, which falls tomorrow, to demand better welfare for working women.

A similar petition was submitted to the House committee on children, youth, women, the elderly and people with disabilities yesterday.

Thanaporn believed the number of nurseries in industrial/community zones should be increased, and their quality improved.

Dr Poonchai Chitanuntavitaya, a former executive of the National Health Security Office, said that while dozens of women died of breast and cervical cancer each day, the social security scheme had not provided free cancer screenings for its female members.

However, he explained there were simple steps that women could use in detecting the early stages of breast cancer by themselves.

"Such information is available on the Internet," Poonchai said.

He also encouraged women to contact their community centres, many of which offered tests for cervical cancer.

Ubon Romphothong from the Thai Kriang Community Association said she felt doctors in the social security scheme paid little attention to patients who could walk in.

"Doctors seem to really listen only when we exaggerate our symptoms," she said.

Oijai Jamthongdee, a representative of unregistered workers, said her employer fired her when she became heavily pregnant.

"My employer felt I would not be able to work hard enough with the pregnancy," she lamented.

Oijai said the government should step in to help such unprotected workers. "Without work, how can they find money to support themselves and their babies?" she said.

Thanaporn said the government must provide women with better services relating to their right to reproductive health.


-- The Nation 2013-03-07

[fareastguy]

Quote:

"We have made several pleas before but to no avail," she said, "This has happened even though the current prime minister is a woman".

Yingluk is probably the last person to acknowledge that "women" even have problems, coming from a privileged family & born with a "silver spoon" in her mouth, when she wants something she just clicks her "painted" fingers and... Problem what problem ??

[OzMick]

I thought for a moment the subject of this thread was gynecological.

Gynecology is one of my hobbies, though strictly amateur. I don't know much about them, but usually willing to have a look.

Edited March 7, 2013 by OzMick

[Buchholz]

.

The OP continues a long trail of disappointment with the woman PM on women's issues.

a small sampling...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/617013-women-still-struggling-for-recognition-thai-opinion/#entry6084219

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/615255-new-minister-a-tough-call-for-yingluck/#entry6064331

Thailand's first female PM no victory for feminism
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/597668-thai-foreign-ministry-responds-to-ombudsman-over-passport-for-thaksin/#entry5842017

.

[chainarong]

Lack of action, Question , is this only attributed to women's problems, i sorta thought the whole shebang had this problem.

[Bagwan]

Dr Poonchai joins the ranks of the mentally incompetent out of touch with reality. How many women out in the countryside know about self testing for breast cancer? How many have access to the Internet and if they do, how likely to seek information on any subject at all, rather than join the kids in gaming? How many, having jumped through those hoops, have access to treatment and what did he do about the problem when a phu yai at NHSO?

The whole conundrum of providing a free treatment at the point of access service for ALL needs to be addressed, and while in sympathy with women's specific needs to be assuaged, they are but a fraction of the whole problem and they should not delude themselves that they should have any priority. Figures in the UK some 15 years ago revealed that far, far more men died of prostate cancer than women with breast cancer yet no campaign to provide special services was mounted such as had been in the case of women. I guess women took their proclivity for nagging up to Government level.

[bigbamboo]

There's the PM, PT, PMT........... nothing but problems, problems.

But you'd think if a woman was running the country things would improve.

Maybe one day she will.

[slipperx]

This government has failed to do anything much except ramp up the levels of corruption. Maybe it is a corruption boom before bust but I think maybe I am only dreaming.

[monkeycountry]

"Integrated Female Labour Group's chair Thanaporn Wijan said the government had not paid enough attention to solving women's problems"

I do not get this statement at all. Just a few weeks ago a large group of male police (all government employees) and reporters gave plenty of attention to a 12 year old naked girl with big problems, they were so thorough that they even took pictures and movies and published them so the rest of us could pay attention as well.
In my home country, which is generally considered a modern civilized country, government employees do not pay half as much attention to 12 year old naked girls as their Thai counterparts, and those that do are generally arrested and prosecuted as if they had done something wrong!!
To say that Ms. Yinglucks government does not pay enough attention to women's problems is simply not true!

Edited March 7, 2013 by monkeycountry

[chiangmaikelly]

This government has failed to do anything much except ramp up the levels of corruption. Maybe it is a corruption boom before bust but I think maybe I am only dreaming.

Edit. Sorry I just realized above was an off topic post.

Edited March 7, 2013 by chiangmaikelly

[wilcopops]

I wonder if anyone mentioned this to the bar girls in Pattaya.

[wilcopops]

I thought for a moment the subject of this thread was gynecological.

Gynecology is one of my hobbies, though strictly amateur. I don't know much about them, but usually willing to have a look.

How facile can you get?

[OzMick]

I thought for a moment the subject of this thread was gynecological.

Gynecology is one of my hobbies, though strictly amateur. I don't know much about them, but usually willing to have a look.

How facile can you get?

Much more than that! I treated the thread with the gravity that it deserves, especially now that the PM has declared she is about to solve all Thai women's problems.

[chiangmaikelly]

I thought for a moment the subject of this thread was gynecological.

Gynecology is one of my hobbies, though strictly amateur. I don't know much about them, but usually willing to have a look.

How facile can you get?

Much more than that! I treated the thread with the gravity that it deserves, especially now that the PM has declared she is about to solve all Thai women's problems.

I must of missed it. Do you have a link?