With reference to
your article
Gender and religion: Where nuns fear to
tread The Bangkok Post, March 6,
2011.
As a non-Thai Buddhist, albeit vague on
Thai cultures and traditions, one cannot but is left amazed and
flabbergasted at the treatment of female clergy in Thai Religious
and Official circles.
I certainly hope that the view from the general public is not the
same as that of the official one regarding the community of Nuns.
In the whole of the above captioned article, it seems that the
concern is centre solely on how to tighten the rules and
regulations even further to prevent such incident from happening
again. One cannot but is left again with the feeling that nuns are
nothing more than an irritant to the Thai Official and Religious
Authorities, and once they step out of official lines they should
be regarded as social outcasts.
Not officially allowed to interpret or teach the dhamma, perform
religious rituals, barred from managing temples? It is so
surprising that such obvious outdated discriminating practices are
still in place in this modern time. It is as though women have only
a “half a brain” as compared to men.
Female constituted more than half of Thailand’s population, and for
the betterment of their gender and also to remove the impediments
place in their path on their religious practices; they should band
together with other female organizations in existence, religious or
otherwise to fight for what is good for themselves instead of
allowing the opposite gender using some outdated laws and
regulations to decide on their destiny.
It is my beliefs that, they are lots of Buddhist brothers and
sisters out there, both locals and foreigners alike, who will give
their full support in their fights for their
rights.