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SOUTHERN MUSLIMS: Women upset by nude photos
Seminar participants demand soldiers remove pictures from trucks, barracks
Women from the South have urged the military to be more sensitive to Muslim women.
Sita Moosoe from Yala province yesterday expressed her concerns about the behaviour of soldiers sent to the three southernmost provinces and demanded the removal of photos of scantily-clad women from military trucks.
“It’s improper as there are many young women from Muslim communities recruited to work in military units,” said Sita, at a seminar in Bangkok organised by the Women’s Network for Peace.
Women from Muslim communities aged between 18 and 30 are being hired under a government policy to create extra income for local people, said Sita. The women receive Bt4,500 per month for working in military camps. But in the eyes of Muslims, it is inappropriate for women and soldiers to be working so closely together.
“These young women need work to help their families, so they have no choice,” Sita explained.
She complained that pictures of women in revealing clothes displayed on military trucks showed the authorities were insensitive to Muslim traditions.
As a family member directly affected by the violence in the South, Sita and 35 other women who have lost husbands, fathers and brothers suggested the government consider moving some of the soldiers out of the area.
“But soldiers who have good a relationship with members of the community shouldn’t be removed,” they said in a statement.
The women’s statement also included suggestions for the government to stop arrests without a warrant, and a debt moratorium from the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operative. “These debts has become a hard burden since we lost our husbands,” read the statement.
They also demanded the government reveal information and details of the relief provided for the victims’ families and to set up a mechanism to monitor the relief projects.
Subhatra Bhumiprabhas
The Nation |
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