Page 55 - งานเชิดชูเกียรติผู้หญิงนักปกป้องสิทธิมนุษยชน วันสตรีสากล 2562

“The Hmong Women Network in Thailand” was born from a
meeting of thousands of Hmong women in the province. These women
encountered problems with domestic violence caused by culture, local
traditions and beliefs about women. One significant factor is that in Hmong
communities, sons are traditionally favored over daughters, reinforcing the
belief that men are superior to women. Men are leaders who honor their
family name, and sons pass on the family name. It was typically sons
who take care of aging parents, and only sons who shelter them when
they are older. These beliefs have made it such that families give priority
to sons rather than daughters. Women who are divorced, widowed or
single mothers face discrimination and stigmatization,as do children
born to single mothers. The main problem that Hmong women have
to face is the tradition that believes that women must depend on men.
When the married daughter moves out of the house, she sheds
her father’s surname for her husband’s and symbolically forsakes her
ancestry and family guardian spirit for those of her husband’s family.
Whenever a family problem occurs, such as divorce, women become
single mothers and are rejected by the husband’s family or name. They
cannot return to their original clan and guardian spirit of the house again.
As a result, women and children in this situation experience problems.
In addition to the psychological effects of stigmatization, they also
experience additional economic burdens. More so, families that only
have daughters do not have a care-taker later in life.

54