Thai transwomen removed from teacher exam over female attire
Candidates ejected mid-test sparking outrage over discrimination policies
Two Thai transwomen stepped forward to seek justice after being removed from a teacher licensing examination for dressing according to their gender identity rather than their biological sex.
One of the transwomen, Punyaphat Dechbanrung, took to her Facebook account yesterday, June 22, to share her disappointment over being treated unequally due to her gender identity. She posted a photo of herself wearing a female university uniform and began her message with the following statement:
“A review of my experience at the teacher licensing examination today: I was removed from the exam after the head of the examination committee informed me that I had failed to dress according to my biological sex. My title is ‘Mister’, so I should not wear a skirt to the exam.”
Punyaphat further explained that the dress code published by the Teachers’ Council of Thailand before the exam only required candidates to dress “politely” or wear their respective university uniform. There was no mention of attire needing to correspond to biological sex.
She added that what puzzled her most was that she had been allowed to enter the examination room and had already completed more than 30 minutes of the test before being asked to leave. She described the situation as a waste of her time and opportunity.
Following Punyaphat’s post, another transwoman, Panusara Ngaokot, came forward with a similar account. She stated that she, too, had been removed from the examination room for not dressing following her biological sex.
Panusara told the examination committee that she had completed her university education presenting as a woman, but was still denied the chance to finish the exam.
Although she said she could reapply for a future teacher licensing examination, Panusara strongly objected to gender identity being used as a basis to evaluate a person’s worth or suitability as a teacher.
Panusara added that she had been taking the exam for about 20 minutes before being removed. She concluded her post with a powerful question…
“Where is the LGBTQIA+ community in Thai society? If we are going to teach children to embrace diversity, why don’t we accept diversity among teachers?”
As of now, the Teachers’ Council of Thailand, the governing body responsible for the examination, has not issued a public statement or offered any resolution to the issue.
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