iieiiei1eWrkers - Leicester Research Archive - University of Leicester

Patriarchy is used here to describe the institutionalisation of male dominance
over women and childern in the family and the extension of male dominance
over women in society in general. The subordination of women, however, may
derive from the collusion or voluntary acceptance of subordinate status in
exchange for protection and privilege. It does not imply that women are either
totally powerless or totally deprived of rights, influence, and resources (Lerner,
1986:235,239).
Patriarchy in Thai society preceded the rise of private property. It is rooted in
the relations of biological reproduction and in the control of sexuality. Family
law in the Ayudhya period categorised women as the rightful property and wife
of a man as in the following circumstances;
1. A woman whose parents hand her over to a man is called a
central wife (first or grand wife).
2. A woman who is asked by a man to be his minor wife is called
an outer wife.
3. A woman whom a man has relieved from destitution and decided
to keep as a wife is called a slave wife.
(Pramoj, 1967:35)
Sanctioned by the legal system the patriarch has absolute control over the
women in his family, both sexually and in the division of labour. Despite the
fact that the 1935 Family Law outlawed polygamy it is still widely practised and
acclaimed. As the property of the patriarch, women serve the function of
sexual reproduction as well as domestic labour. In the past, wives and children
were sold as slaves to settle the family's debts. Although this is now an
illegal practice the overwhelming power of the father remains. 14 Taken together
with paternalism in the public sphere, this system subjects Thai women to a
double economic exploitation.
On the one hand, their entry into the labour market has liberated women in
some sectors despite the hierarchical division of labour. On the other hand,
they must continue to carry domestic chores without pay. Arguing from a
feminist perspective, Hartmann pointed out that;
"The hierarchical domestic division of labour is perpetuated by the
labour market, and vice versa. This process is i/ic present outcome
of the continuing interaction of two imiirlocking systems, capitalism and
patriarchy. Patriarchy, far from being vanquished by capitalism, is
still very virile; it shapes 1/ic form modern capitalism takes, just as tile
14 Poverty striken peasants continue to send or practically sell their
children, mostly daughters, aged between 10-13 to sweat shops or small
factories for cheap labour. Elder girls who are unable' to get a factory
job frequently end up in the sex industry (Banerjee, 1980).
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