Wed, Mar 25, 2026 page3

• Taiwanese law inspires Thai lawmaker’s work

  • Staff writer, with CNA, BANGKOK
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  In Taiwan, mothers can easily find quiet and clean spaces to breastfeed — a convenience that sometimes impresses visiting tourists.

  For Thai lawmaker Sasinan Thamnithinan, that small but striking detail during a visit years ago planted the seed for a political mission — one she is pursuing in Thailand’s parliament.

  “When I had my first child, I traveled to Taiwan, and I appreciated that they had a lot of breastfeeding rooms. They were everywhere. But it’s very hard to find them in Thailand,” Sasinan said in an interview. “Thailand should also do this.”

  

  People walk past a breastfeeding room at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on March 31, 2014.

  Photo: Hsu Cheng-yang, Taipei Times

  In Thailand, she often has to go home or to department stores to breastfeed her baby, she said.

  Sasinan said that Taiwan’s laws governing breastfeeding in public places impressed her when she studied them, adding that in Thailand, regulations are in the draft stage and have not yet been extended to public policies.

  A human rights lawyer, Sasinan was elected a member of parliament in 2023, winning re-election last month. She officially began her second term this month.

  During her time in office, she has laid the groundwork for amendments on maternity leave and workplace breastfeeding spaces that would require companies to set aside designated spaces and time for female employees.

  Taiwan enacted the Public Breastfeeding Act (公共場所母乳哺育條例) in 2010, guaranteeing a woman’s right to breastfeed in public and requiring some establishments to provide spaces.

  Sasinan said that ensuring similar legislation is passed in Thailand remains one of her top priorities.

  In addition to advocating women’s rights, Sasinan has pushed back against the gender inequality that she says exists within Thailand’s parliament.

  In Thailand’s newly formed parliament, female lawmakers account for about 20 percent of the body, far below the roughly 40 percent representation in the Legislative Yuan, and they have a tough time making their voices heard.

  “When parliament debates important issues, male lawmakers often speak forcefully or in a domineering tone and many female lawmakers are unable to get the microphone to speak up,” Sasinan said.

  She described the challenges female lawmakers face in Thailand, where simply “having a voice” can be a struggle in itself.

  Even within her own progressive People’s Party, Sasinan said there is room for improvement when it comes to discussions in internal meetings on gender issues.

  Political parties, she said, tend to prioritize competence over gender diversity, which “may lead to critical issues being overlooked in major decisionmaking,” and she said that parties consider introducing gender quotas in their decisionmaking processes.

  Drawing on her background as a human rights lawyer before entering politics, Sasinan said she has “learned to survive” within the system and is striving to drive change in a rigid political culture.

  Acknowledging that the People’s Party fell short of expectations in the last month’s elections and would serve in the opposition, Sasinan said advancing reforms would be challenging.

  She said her commitment to pushing forward change and said that while progress might be gradual, “there is always room to move forward.”
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