Zero Discrimination Day: Did you know Indigenous Peoples are NOT recognized under Thai law?

Meet Indigenous women leaders from Southern Thailand fighting for their peoples’ recognition.

For Indigenous communities in Thailand, discrimination begins with not being formally recognized under Thai law.

✊ Today on Zero Discrimination Day, we’re amplifying the voices of Indigenous women leaders from Southern Thailand who are fighting for their Peoples’ recognition. They joined Manushya Foundation’s UPR Capacity and Movement-Building Workshop in Hat Yai, held last 11-12 November 2025, organized with our partners Young Pride Foundation, MovED (Move to End Discrimination), and LBTQ Wellbeing.

• Naowanit Chaemphit, Moken community

• Naree Wongsachon, Urak Lawoi sea gypsies community in Krabi | Tribal Women’s Association for Development

• Saluay Hanthale, Koh Lipe, Satun | Tribal Women’s Association for Development

When communities are not recognized, the consequences are real:

🪪 Statelessness

🏔️ Land grabbing driven by profit

🔒 Cultural exploitation

❌ Exclusion from education, healthcare, and political participation

As a decolonial, intersectional feminist organisation, our stance at Manushya Foundation is clear: legal erasure is structural discrimination.

We call on the Thai government to comply with their international human rights commitments: formally recognize Indigenous Peoples, protect their collective rights in line with UNDRIP, and ensure Indigenous women’s leadership in land governance.

📖 Learn more in our CEDAW feminist Shadow Report, “Our Land, Our Bodies, Our Rights” where we expose the systemic discrimination and structural inequalities faced by Indigenous Peoples, women, and LGBTQIA+ communities across Thailand: bit.ly/CEDAWReport2

#WeAreManushyan ∞ Equal Human Beings

#ZeroDiscriminationDay #IndigenousRightsAreHumanRights #EndDiscrimination