Page 69 - งานเชิดชูเกียรติผู้หญิงนักปกป้องสิทธิมนุษยชนวันสตรีสากล 2561

“Women remain at home to look after the household so
they are able to participate in the movement and they make the

confrontations less violent than men. When we demand for justice,
the government officials are less likely to use force or violence.
Moreover, when women think of doing something, they also reflect

on what should be done first,” said Wanna Lawan, a member of the
Rak Ban Haeng Conservation Group. According to Wanna, the female

members are called the “Iron Ladies,” which implies that they have
the courage to fight and they are as strong as men when claiming for
human rights.

Most group leaders are women from the younger genera-
tion who act as human rights defenders. They have returned to their

community to assist in the group’s mission and to work shoulder-to-
shoulder with the villagers.
The struggle of Rak Ban Haeng Conservation Group worked

through the mechanisms of the National Human Rights Commission and
the network of people who own mineral resources in Thailand. They
also submitted a letter to the Office of the Ombudsman requesting

for an investigation on the abuse of power by the village headman
and other local leaders, whether there were conflicts of interest or
corruption involved in permitting ALRO land to be used for mining

activities.
At the same time, they also submitted a similar letter to the

Department of Special Investigations and to the Head of the
Damrongtham Centre. There is no denying that these actions which
demanded justice from state agencies and large organization did not

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