Nothing sick or abnormal regarding transsexuals
* Published: 29/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/26458/nothing-sick-or-abnormal-regarding-transsexuals (http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/26458/nothing-sick-or-abnormal-regarding-transsexuals)
QuoteAsk any transsexual in Thailand what happened to him on military conscription day, and he will painfully tell you how he had to bear with humiliation, ridicule, and - quite often - sexual harassment.
As part of the physical examination, for example, transsexuals are required to take off their shirts and have their bare breasts measured in full public view. The sight is considered "hilarious" and the photos of bare-breasted "katoeys" often appear in newspapers the following day.
A few years ago, the military provided transsexuals with a special room for physical examination to protect the respectability of the draft ritual. But the harassment of the transsexuals continued.
"Three officials followed me into the room. I was told to take off my shirt, they stared at my breasts, touched them, and laughed at me. Imagine my humiliation. But I couldn't do anything," one transsexual lamented at a recent meeting, co-organised by the National Human Rights Commission, the Thiranart Kanchana-aksorn Foundation, and the transsexuals' movement to redress the situation.