With her criticisms of modern society, Rabiabrat Pongpanich has earned the name "dinosaur" in some circles. She seems untroubled by this - refusing to pull punches in her fight for a return to traditional roles for men and women.

In her latest book, "Kong Nah Mia Luang" ("The Frontline of the Principal Wives"), Rabiabrat takes up the cudgels in her favourite role - the loyal wife battling for her family.

"I was born to do my duty," the former Khon Kaen senator says.

Her controversial comments on the state of the nation are pounced on by the news-hungry media - she rarely disappoints them. Tata Young's insensitive "El Nin Yo" music video, Churaluck "Ying" Kittiyarat's sexually explicit book and a pregnant Panadda Wongphudee posing nude have all been targets.

Then there was her vocal protest against the taboo on women visiting certain temples.

The book portrays her life, from her childhood in Khon Kaen and her time at Thammasat University, through to her marriage to a bright young civil servant. She also shares private perceptions on life and family that even her husband, ex-deputy interior minister Sermsak, has never been party to.

"If he reads some parts, he might want a divorce," says Rabiabrat, laughing.

In fact, the book shows what a devoted wife and mother these days has to go through for her family.

Being a wife in this patriarchal world, Rabiabrat says, requires tolerance. With her husband's job often taking him away from home for long periods, she's the one left in charge of the children and the home.

"Early on in our relationship, before we were married, I was ill for a week and there was just no way he could find the time to visit me," she says. After that, she knew she had to be strong.

For years, as president of the Centre for the Promotion of Happy and Loving Families, Rabiabrat has been campaigning for the "one wife, one husband" tradition.

This theme of devotion has run through her life since her early days. As the eldest sister in her family, she was responsible for the well-being of her younger siblings. Later, she studied hard to make her parents proud, graduating with honours in commerce and accountancy.

Instead of blaming her husband for leaving her with all the responsibility for the family, Rabiabrat takes a different route: She practises the traditional krab, bowing down each night at his feet before going to bed.

"If you're thinking too much about yourself, your family will never be a family," she says. "To make it a family, you have to leave your ego to one side and act like a responsible wife and mother. If I put myself first, there'd be no Pongpanich family."

Sureeporn Wangsubkawee, a 40-year-old mother, is a big fan of Rabiabrat's campaign for traditional family values, but, she says, "the suggestion that a wife krab her husband before going to bed is a little too much".

Rabiabrat sails on, however, untroubled by the "dinosaur" shots. She's sticking by the hope that " one day, people will understand and learn from what I'm saying, even though I may not be around to see it".

Sirinya Wattanasukchai

The Nation