Bombarded by
complaints from transvestites and transsexuals, who are
exempt from the Thai military because they have been
classified as having a "mental disorder," the
Thai army is amending the law to omit the words and
keep up with a changing society, an official said Wednesday.
All Thai men at the age of 20 are required by
law to register to serve in the military as conscript
soldiers. Recruits are selected in a lottery system,
but each year thousands of men who dress or have undergone
surgical procedures to look like women receive certificates
of exemption that are stamped "Due to mental disorder."
"The existing conscription law has been
promulgated since 1954, when there were few
homosexuals and transvestites, but society is changing
very fast, so the army is in the process of amending the law
and omitting those words from the certificate," said
Lt. Gen. Arthorn Lohitkul, director general of the
Army Reserve Command. Arthorn said that the army
requires 80,000 new conscripts each year and that 1%
to 2% who show up for the lottery are either
transvestites or transsexuals.
Gay rights activist Natee Theerarojnaphong
launched the campaign to have the words omitted from
the conscript exemption. "No employer wants to hire
anyone with a record of 'mental disorder' to work in his
company," Natee said, adding that people with mental
disorders are also unable to make certain legal agreements.
A celebrity Thai-style kickboxer who underwent
surgery to become a woman, Parinya Charoenphol,
complained on local television after being exempted
from the military. "The words 'mental disorder' marked on
the certificate seriously affects our lives," said
Parinya, who as a man used to wear makeup for bouts
and kiss opponents after winning fights.
Thailand is a Buddhist country where gays,
transvestites, and transsexuals are largely tolerated.
Gay and transvestite actors play key roles in Thai
movies and television soap operas. (AP)
