- Unofficial Translation –

Intervention by

His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.)

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand

at the ASEAN Leaders’ Special Session on

Women’s Empowerment in the Digital Age

26 June 2020

* * * * *

Mr. Chairman, 

Excellencies,

The Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand,

Dr. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,

1.              It is my great pleasure and honour to take part in the ASEAN Leaders’ Special Session on “Women’s Empowerment in the Digital Age”. Thailand commends Viet Nam for recognising the importance of empowering women, who account for more than half of the ASEAN Community. I am convinced that women’s empowerment is an important factor supporting the realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

2.              For Thailand, women’s empowerment has always been a key policy agenda because we recognise that women’s rights are fundamental human rights, to which everyone must be entitled. Thailand’s Women’s Development Plan, which is part of our Women’s Development Strategy 2017-2021, therefore places emphasis on promoting critical educational foundations through the Equitable Education Fund and lifelong learning.

3.              On the economic side, Thailand has actively promoted women entrepreneurship through the establishment of the Thai Women’s SMEs Association in 2007.  The Association continues to create networks of women entrepreneurs, provide consultations, and develop an e-training system as well as capacity building in the area of information and communications technology for women entrepreneurs. This is aimed at promoting career development, generating income and providing access to the necessary news and information so that the businesses they lead can become ‘Smart Enterprises’. Here, women entrepreneurs and women in enterprise can be equipped with the knowledge and skills to apply digital technology to realise the full potential of their businesses.

4.              Thailand has also fully advocated the empowerment of women in ASEAN by supporting the establishment of the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network, or AWEN, to promote networking and capacity building in the business sector for women entrepreneurs. AWEN-Thailand is honoured to assume the Chairmanship of AWEN from 2018 to 2020 and will soon host the Global Summit of Women 2020.  Under the theme “Women: Revolutionizing Economies”, the Summit will synergise women’s strength from all sectors for economic and social development, as well as encourage the global community to realise the importance of the role of women leaders in the economy, academia and politics, as well as stability in the region.

5.              In efforts to eliminate obstacles to the advancement of women, Thailand has enacted the Gender Equality Act 2015 to eradicate gender-based discrimination, both direct and indirect, to prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace, and to promote attitudes that value gender equality. A notable example is the initiative to eliminate gender stereotypes in education, for which Thailand is leading a study and developing guidelines to achieve this goal. Once completed, the study will be submitted to the ASEAN Committee on Women.

6.              During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thai Government introduced measures to help women affected by the pandemic, including low-income citizens, the poor, children, youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities. It included assistance tailored to the conditions of the problem and actual needs, subsidies to persons with disabilities and their families, skills training, as well as home repair.  Furthermore, the Government is also extending help to pregnant women who have been unfairly laid off during this pandemic.

7.              However, even though we have progressed considerably in women’s empowerment, ASEAN should prioritise the following issues, in order to address the common challenges we face today:

8.              First, ASEAN should promote financial access to empower women who own micro, small, and medium enterprises, which make up more than 95 per cent of all enterprises in ASEAN. This would be an opportunity to empower women to earn incomes and become self-reliant by taking advantage of the leaps in technological development and advancement of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

9.              Second, ASEAN should promote the role of women in the healthcare sector.  The COVID-19 pandemic has made Thailand very much aware of the significant role played by women as Village Health Volunteers, who have been working vigorously to pre-empt and prevent the spread of infection in local communities. In fact, they are regarded as the frontline in tracking high risk contacts, enforcing quarantine, and sharing knowledge with the public, and have helped to make our disease control efforts effective. Indeed, these women Village Health Volunteers form part of the strong foundation on which the Thai healthcare system is based.

10.          Lastly, Thailand sincerely hopes that, going forward, ASEAN Member States will work together to forge an important alliance in promoting the sustainable advancement of women in the economic, political and social dimensions.

11.          Thank you.