Bangkok, Thailand - A group of bhikkhuni from a monastery in Nakhon Pathom were blocked from paying respects to the late King in December last year. A bhikkhuni is a fully ordained female monastic in Buddhism. According to Thai law the bhikkhuni are illegal and were reprimanded for wearing the saffron robes of Theravada Buddhist monks.
After such unpleasant event, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, the country's first and most senior bhikkhuni, has lodged a petition with the Department of Women's Affairs and Family Development (DWF) against sexual discrimination of female Buddhist monks. The petition calls for an end to discrimination against Theravada bhikkhuni who want to pay respects to the late King at the Grand Palace, and to treat them as Buddhist monks without sexual discrimination. The petition was signed by more than 10 bhikkhuni.
In November last year, another group of bhikkhuni from Songkhla were told that female monks are illegal, and if they still want to pay respects to the late King they should join the lay people's queues wearing black outfits instead of their monastic robes.
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni said she and 70 more female monks were humiliated and shocked when they were denied entrance to the Grand Palace. The person in charge of screening the monastics at the Grand Palace, Mr Teerapak, told her that he didn't allow Dhammananda Bhikkhuni's group to enter because they lacked certification. He added that, unless the group comes up with a letter of confirmation from the palace office, the clergy's rules prevail.
"We explained to him (Mr Teerapak) that as Theravada bhikkhuni ordained in Sri Lanka, we are not part of the Thai clergy. So the rules prohibiting female ordination by the Thai clergy do not apply to us. Besides, we have already received the palace's permission to come. But he refused to listen," she said.
The group, represented by Kanjana Suthikul, also asked Mr Teerapak to apologize to the bhikkhuni before the committee considers issues of preferential treatment on the basis of gender under the DWF. Also, according to the Kanjana Suthikul, the media should record Mr Teerapak’s apology. "We want to set a legal precedent that officials cannot violate the constitution which protects gender equality and religious rights," Ms Kanjana said.
In this case, freedom of religion has been brought into question and also there is a gender inequality. The group will file another complaint to Dusit district court on Jan 19 regarding the case.
Photo Credits: Sravasti Abbey
