Meet Saluai Hantale: An Indigenous Chao Lay defender SLAPPed for protecting her ancestral land

In this interview, Saluai Hantale, a Chao Lay Indigenous woman activist from Koh Lipe and member of the Indigenous Women’s Association for Development (IWAD), speaks with Manushya about being sued for defending her community’s ancestral land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztyWOPdIGqM

Koh Lipe is often seen as one of Thailand’s most beautiful island destinations. But behind the image of paradise, Chao Lay Indigenous sea people face land grabbing, blocked access to fishing areas, tourism development pressures, and lawsuits that punish them for speaking up.

P’Saluai’s story reflects a wider pattern of repression against Indigenous Peoples and land defenders in Thailand, where SLAPPs and judicial harassment create a chilling effect across communities fighting to protect their land, culture, and way of life.

As a follow-up to Manushya’s UPR Capacity and Feminist Movement-Building Workshops, where P’Saluai joined as a member of IWAD, Manushya and IWAD made a joint submission to the OHCHR for Thailand’s UPR IV. The submission exposes what “development” tries to bury: Indigenous women defenders are being punished for protecting land, sea, memory, and life, including through SLAPPs like the case against P’Saluai.

Manushya Foundation stands with P’Saluwai and the Chao Lay people in their struggle for land rights, dignity, and justice.

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