Thai army using women to tackle insurgency

Military hopes softer approach will help ease tension in south


YALA - WHEN Muslim women and children recently staged a protest in insurgency-hit southern Thailand, the army sent Mariya into the crowd to chat, glean information and check whether any men were hiding among the protesters.

Mariya, a Muslim, is one of 140 female rangers recruited by the military in a search for non-lethal ways to curb the three-year insurgency that has claimed more than 2,000 lives so far.

It is a risky undertaking, especially for the 20 Muslims among the women. About half the people who died in the insurgency are Muslims. Most of them were killed for allegedly collaborating with the predominantly Buddhist government.

That is why Mariya, 27, asked for her surname to be withheld.

A former registrar at a government office in Pattani, one of the three provinces where the insurgency is raging, she said she joined the rangers because she disagreed with the insurgents' aims.

To infiltrate the demonstration, she wore a Muslim robe. She recalled getting cold stares when she visited a crowded mosque wearing her black ranger uniform.

'I was a little frightened as I didn't know how the villagers viewed me,' she said. 'I told them they could count on me as one of their relatives; if they had any problems, to feel free to tell me.'

The women rangers, who are trained not only to use weapons and conduct body searches but also to deliver babies and help families in need, are being deployed as the army attempts to regain the initiative in its battle against the insurgents.

The idea of using a softer approach started under the government of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and meshed with the strategy of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's military-installed government.

'It is better for women to do the talking. Male soldiers look tough and aggressive. When women talk, people tend to be more relaxed,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Roento, a ranger commander.

Mr Chaiwat Satha-anand, a political scientist at Bangkok's Thammasat University, applauded the move, saying: 'Several studies have found women have a higher chance to succeed in solving problems peacefully than men.

'Suppose the army deploys male soldiers to deal with female demonstrators and they touch the women; that could create cultural problems in the context of Muslim society.'

Ms Natchaphat Kongchuen is a Buddhist. Dressed in black fatigues and combat boots, she quit her job as a receptionist at a police station in Yala and enlisted as a ranger after her father, a military officer, was killed in an ambush last year.

It was one of hundreds of bombings and shootings which have plagued the Muslim-dominated provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since insurgents, capitalising on a feeling of second-class status among Muslims, mounted a new push for separation from the Buddhist majority.

'I wanted to take part in solving the country's problems after my dad died,' Ms Natchaphat said.

Although soldiers have been prime targets of insurgents' guns and bombs, Ms Mariya is unfazed.

'Everyone will die. If we die for the country, it is a better thing,' she said. 'We owe gratitude to the land where we were born.'

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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CULTURAL CLASH

'Suppose the army deploys male soldiers to deal with female demonstrators and they touch the women; that could create cultural problems in the context of Muslim society.'
MR CHAIWAT SATHA-ANAND, a political scientist at Bangkok's Thammasat University

SOFT APPROACH

'It is better for women to do the talking. Male soldiers look tough and aggressive. When women talk, people tend to be more relaxed.'
LT-COL TIM ROENTO, a ranger commander