Women’s Development Plan in the Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2002-2006)

The former five-year Women’s Development Plan has been adapted to correspond with two main policy documents at national and international levels namely the Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan and the Beijing Platform for Action.

 

The Women’s Development Plan focuses in people-centered development with a particular emphasis on effective social security and participation of all sectors of the society in line with the Ninth National Development Plan. The formation of the plan has also taken as guidelines, the constitutional guarantee to equal rights of women and men, the direction of the 20-Year Women’s Development Plan as well as the obligation to various UN conventions to which Thailand has become the signatory.

 

Vision

It has been envisioned that women have sufficient potential to be self-reliant, have good quality of life and are able to live happily throughout every period of life.  They are well protected in the family, community and society and receive equal treatments with men. Women also participate in development process and in decision-making at all levels and receive benefits from regular and effective organizations and management for the advancement of women.

 

Goals

In order to realize the set vision, the Plan sets the following goals.
1. To develop the quality of life and their full potential for their physical , intellectual, aptitudinal, social and metal well-being,
2. To eliminate both de jure and de facto discrimination against women,
3. To protect women in all aspects including performing their productive role and reproductive role as mothers to ensure full enjoyment of human dignity,
4. To promote active participation of women in economic, social, political development and administration as wall as in peace development within the family, community, country and the global community.
 

Strategies for Women’s Development
In order to achieve the aforementioned plan, objectives and targets, five strategies are prescribed as follows:
1. Development of Women’s Potential
2. Participation of Women in Decision - Making
3. Promotion of Gender Equality and Social Security
4. Strengthening of the Media for Women’s Development
5. Strengthening Organizations and Management of Women’s Affairs
 

Women’s Development Plan in the Tenth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2007-2011)

The underlying obstacle to Thai women’s development has always been societal attitudes toward gender.  The tenth plan therefore seeks to focus on changing attitudes of Thai society towards gender equality, while continuing to build women’s capacity to enable them to live to their full potential as both actors for and beneficiaries of national development.
 

Positive changes towards women’s development not only need the strengthening of women’s capacity but also collective work in partnership  with all key players to take necessary steps to ensure that gender equality is well understood and effectively addressed. Other byproducts of cultural biases against women are violence and abuse, negative projection of women’s images by the media, lack of opportunity to make economic as well as political decisions, and absence of the principle of shared power and responsibility between women and men at home, in the community, in the workplace and at the wider national level. 

 

The goals are as follows:

1. To shift societal attitudes towards deeper awareness of and respect for human rights and gender equality
2. To advance women’s empowerment for greater participation in development 
3. To ensure women’s protection as safeguard to their human rights
 

The objectives are:

1. To achieve better respect of human integrity and gender equality among children, youth, women and men;
2. To increase the numbers of women in politics and administration at all levels;
3. To improve participation of women representing different groups in the area of health policy formulation, and promote access to quality health care and reproductive health services;
4. To decrease significantly cases of violence against women, while improving access to resources and services when such cases occur;
5. To create conditions for improved women’s economic participation and benefit sharing.
 

Strategies for Women’s Development
In order to achieve the aforementioned plan, objectives and targets, five strategies are prescribed as follows
1. Mobilize all stakeholders to promote attitude change towards gender equality
2. Increase women’s participation in political decision making
3. Improve access to health care services
4. Strengthen women’s rights to human security
5. Foster women’s economic participation