In the past, Thai women were expected to take care of their husbands, cooperate, and be very obedient to their spouses orders. In 1861, an edict promulgated which allowed Thai men to have several wives. Thus, as it came to be shortly thereafter, men of high society would normally possess multiple wives, which eventually became an indicator as to what their socioeconomic status was. In contrast, women of Thailand used to not have no control of the way they were treated by men, no matter what social class you were born into; high or low, women were always ranked lower in status than men (Sarutta).
If anything, back in the day the socioeconomic status of your future husband would determine the type of circumstances a traditional Thai women would be forced to face. For instance, if women were married to men of high society, they were still considered a possession of their husband as they would be under any traditional Thai marriage agreement, however, by law these women were not allowed to be severely punished by there husbands. As for women married to men of lower socioeconomic status, their status of living was far more inferior (Sarutta).
Overall, ordinary Thai women were expected to support the upkeep of their households for the majority of their marriage on their own. Especially, when their husband was not around during the day due to the responsibilities of his position of labour, or when he would be called to guard the capital for a period of about 4-6 months (Sarutta). Therefore, married women not only had to farm or weave cloth to make their family members clothing, but also bear the burden of finding any job they could in order to earn a steady income.
Nowadays, Thai women lead much more confident lives and in fact, are quite pleased with their position in society. Not only do I believe these women shold be revered for all of their sacrifices from the past, but also for how they approach their daily duties now for at least now they are happy to carry out their expected duties. I feel that given the role of men in Thai society in past and present, women truly could have joined forces and rebelled against their controlling husbands. However, they did not, but instead, their passive aggression has lead them to enjoy the lives they lead today, as well as beautifully developed sort of a coalition between them.
In other words, Women in Thai society can be considered a group with common interests, purposes, goals, aims, etc - which is not suprising to me given how women fought to earn equal rights in the United States. Thus, goals for this Thai alliance of women now include, first and foremost, continuing the hustle, maintaining good manners/positive attitudes, seeking joy form pleasing their families, and doing their best to live up societies extremely high expectations for their role as mothers/caregivers.
References
Sarutta. (2002, September 10). Women's Status In Thai Society. Thaiways Magazine.
If anything, back in the day the socioeconomic status of your future husband would determine the type of circumstances a traditional Thai women would be forced to face. For instance, if women were married to men of high society, they were still considered a possession of their husband as they would be under any traditional Thai marriage agreement, however, by law these women were not allowed to be severely punished by there husbands. As for women married to men of lower socioeconomic status, their status of living was far more inferior (Sarutta).
Overall, ordinary Thai women were expected to support the upkeep of their households for the majority of their marriage on their own. Especially, when their husband was not around during the day due to the responsibilities of his position of labour, or when he would be called to guard the capital for a period of about 4-6 months (Sarutta). Therefore, married women not only had to farm or weave cloth to make their family members clothing, but also bear the burden of finding any job they could in order to earn a steady income.
Nowadays, Thai women lead much more confident lives and in fact, are quite pleased with their position in society. Not only do I believe these women shold be revered for all of their sacrifices from the past, but also for how they approach their daily duties now for at least now they are happy to carry out their expected duties. I feel that given the role of men in Thai society in past and present, women truly could have joined forces and rebelled against their controlling husbands. However, they did not, but instead, their passive aggression has lead them to enjoy the lives they lead today, as well as beautifully developed sort of a coalition between them.
In other words, Women in Thai society can be considered a group with common interests, purposes, goals, aims, etc - which is not suprising to me given how women fought to earn equal rights in the United States. Thus, goals for this Thai alliance of women now include, first and foremost, continuing the hustle, maintaining good manners/positive attitudes, seeking joy form pleasing their families, and doing their best to live up societies extremely high expectations for their role as mothers/caregivers.
References
Sarutta. (2002, September 10). Women's Status In Thai Society. Thaiways Magazine.