Research Report on “Migrants, Minorities, and the Role of Women” in Northern Thailand

Research Report from the Overseas Training Program 2, 2017 in Thailand on “Migrants, Minorities and the Role of Women” 

Keiko MIGLIACCHI, Eri NANIZAWA, Miki ONIDANI, Wang QUIANRAN, Soriya RIN, Jennifer STEWART, Paravee MANEEJUK, Tanya PROMBUROM, Woraphon YAMAKA, Eiji SHINKAI, Naoko SHINKAI, Ariya SVETAMRA, Nalitra THAIPRASERT.

Collaboration: Nagoya University, Japan and Chiang Mai University, Thailand

INTRODUCTION:

In order to contribute to gender studies on ethnic minorities, we defined a domain of investigation within market activities. This is because working in the markets is crucial for ethnic minorities in Thailand to economically and socially survive in society. Moreover, being exposed to mainstream Thai society in the markets may change their traditional gender roles. Therefore, it is significant to investigate the market activities of ethnic minorities in order to well understand their contemporary gender issues (Halkias & Caracatsanis, 2011).

The conventional studies of ethnic minorities in Thailand have been limited in revealing the diversity of gender issues among the different ethnic groups. These gendered studies tend to stereotype that women in ethnic minorities are vulnerable to existing kinship structure and also to stigma from Thai people who treat especially women in a pejorative manner (Cohen, 1992 & 2003, Tooker, 2012 & Toyota, 1998). This stereotype of victimizing women in the ethnic minority as “vulnerable” to existing cultural and social structure could neglect how gender issues of ethnic minorities are being reconfigured in an immediate setting. Therefore, the present study aims to contribute to highlight the reconfiguration and heterogeneity of gender issues of ethnic minorities in Thailand. This objective is achieved by investigating how ethnic minorities define and redefine their gender roles in the markets. This study was conducted over a ten-day fieldwork trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand in July and August 2017 in collaboration with Chiang Mai University. We conducted research activities and interviews with Hmong and Tai Yai community leaders and individuals working in the local markets. This was supplemented with trips to cultural centers, tribal museums, and observations in the markets. In this report, we describe the methods and findings of our study, followed by a discussion on the discrepancies between the communities we interviewed.

Reference: Keiko MIGLIACCHI, Eri NANIZAWA, Miki ONIDANI, Wang QUIANRAN, Soriya RIN, Jennifer STEWART, Paravee MANEEJUK, Tanya Promburom, Woraphon YAMAKA, Eiji SHINKAI, Naoko SHINKAI, Ariya SVETAMRA, Nalitra THAIPRASERT. Research Report from the Overseas Training Program 2, 2017 in Thailand on “Migrants, Minorities and the Role of Women” Forum of International Development Studies. 48―s1（Mar. 2018). Graduated School of International Development Nagoya University. ISSN 2189-9126.  

More Information: https://www.gsid.nagoya-u.ac.j...   

More Info:  20210503071148.pdf