• Download the Thailand section of Home Truths: A Global Report on Equality in the Muslim Family in English or Arabic.

Muslims comprise up to 10 per cent of the Thai population and are concentrated mostly in the southernmost provinces near the Malaysian border. Although the state religion of Thailand is, in effect, Theravada Buddhism, it is not officially designated as such because of a fear that naming a national religion could inflame tensions in the southern provinces, which have seen a resurgence in separatist violence since 2004. Islamic ideas, rituals and practices are relatively pluralistic in character. In the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun, Muslims have been governed by Islamic family and inheritance laws since 1946, while the rest of the country is governed by the civil law. The Central Islamic Committee of Thailand, the 48 Provincial Islamic Committees, and the country’s 3,295 mosque committees have the official authority to rule on Islamic family law and inheritance. Because the state supports this system, it is able to ensure that mainstream Muslim scholars’ interpretations are part of the legal culture and traditional practices related to marriage, family and divorce.

• The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its 2006 review of Thailand’s CEDAW State party report, expressed its concern about Muslim women’s access to health care, social security, economic resources and opportunities for education and skills training to enable them to rebuild their lives after the upsurge in violence.
   
• Islamic law as practised in the southern states permits girls to marry as soon as they reach puberty. Arrangements for marriage are usually made between the two families concerned. Although the minimum marriage age was 17, the family courts could give approval for younger girls to marry in exceptional circumstances, such as the pregnancy of the girl.
   
• Women actively work outside the home in markets, businesses, and in the educational arena. At the same time, they are often concerned that this makes them ‘imperfect Muslim women’ or that they cannot be ‘Muslimah Salihah’ (‘good Muslim women’) in character. The groups of active religious activists with orthodox and conservative orientations do not encourage women to work outside their homes.
   
• Women who work outside the home are still responsible for household chores, with little support and assistance from their husbands and sons.
   
• Sexual negotiation, reproductive health and sexually-transmitted diseases are problems that have not been properly addressed. The few studies available on Muslim women and HIV/STDs mention that Muslim women and Muslim communities in Thailand have a high infection rate compared to Buddhists.

• There are small groups of Muslim women who share their problems with both secular and religious scholars to explore the possibility of re-understanding what Islam has said and the capacity of the Muslim community to ensure equality according to Islam.

A distinction is made between ‘assimilated’ and ‘unassimilated’ Muslims, with the former constituting a diversity of ethnic groups such as the Arabs, the Pathans, the Thai-Malays, etc., and the latter predominantly Malays. This is influenced by rising levels of ethno-religious identity and nationalism among Malays in Southeast Asia, along with the close associations between Buddhism and Thai culture and identity. The influences of Islamic resurgence at the global level have also pushed Muslims to struggle and define a space in a non-Muslim majority state.

The Central Thai government has attempted to culturally assimilate its minorities, including Muslims in the South. The ongoing practice of Muslim and non-Muslim marriage in Thailand then has led the authorities and institutions to call for the implementation of Islamic education in the Muslim community. The religious authorities have made it obligatory for a non-Muslim partner who plans to marry a Muslim and who must therefore convert to have basic knowledge of Islam before marriage. Those who do not want to go for the course are sanctioned. For example, Muslim committee members will not conduct a funeral or other rituals for the non-converts and their family members.

Adherence to Islamic customs and beliefs among Muslims in southern Thailand has increased in their daily activities. Increasing attention is given to Islamic Studies in both the traditional Islamic school system and national schools. While in the past, women wore hijab only during the time of prayer, festivals, or when they were older, it is now common to see women from all walks of life wearing hijab.

The global Islamic revival has awakened a vast number of Thais, especially young Muslims, to strive to adopt new forms of pure Islam within their lifestyles in the modern era. The resurgence emphasises Islamic identity and adherence to Islamic beliefs and practices, with some movement towards cleansing the non-Islamic elements from customs and cultures. This process has witnessed an increase in the use of Arabic religious terminology, segregation between genders, and wearing Arabic, Pakistani, and Malay dresses as well as head scarves.

A growing number of Muslim groups and movements represent both traditionalist Islam, which is more syncretist in nature, as well as reformist Islam, which is more puritanical and associated with Salafi-Wahabi reformism. Some of these movements have rather rigid gender segregation and people have misunderstandings of the value, dynamics, and positions on gender relations in Islam. Others are empowering for women and allow them seek knowledge while practising their faith.