Thai teacher forced to withdraw from beauty pageant

Kanokwan “Jubjang” Chusuk has had to abandon her dream of becoming a beauty queen after discovering female teachers are banned from taking part in beauty contests in Thailand.

The 25 year old is a teacher at an elementary school, Choom Chon Wat Haad Pankrai School, in Chumporn, in the southern province of Thailand. She applied to take part in one of the biggest beauty contests in the kingdom, Miss Universe Thailand and was one of 30 competitors selected from more than 100 candidates. But, she had to withdraw or otherwise face the sack.

Yesterday, Jubjang and the MUT Director, Piyakorn “Pui” Sankosik went on a Facebook Live stream to announce she had withdrawn from the competition and that another candidate would be selected to replace her.

During the livestream, Jubjang said she wanted to be an inspiration for her students who didn’t dare to dream or join a beauty pageant. She also added that she wanted to challenge herself with things she had never done before. The elementary teacher says she’ll now inspire her students and challenge herself through education.

According to Thai Education Ministry rules, female teachers are not allowed to join beauty pageants, performance contests, or any other kinds of competitions. Female teachers who fail to follow the rule face being dismissed from government service.

Thai netizens and MUT fans were happy for the other candidate, Pattaraporn “First” Wang, who was selected after Jubjang withdrew from the competition. However, some questioned the rules of the education ministry, asking why teachers can’t be beauty queens?

The first runner-up from last year’s event, Praveenar “Veenar” Singh, shared her opinion on Facebook, expressing her disappointment.

“The rules should be developed to meet a developed society. The world opens opportunities for everyone. This kind of rule should be changed. Don’t let others say the Thai ministry is out-of-date. And this rule reflexes gender inequality.”

SOURCE: Matichon | Sanook | MGR Online