Increasing Women's Role in the Democratic Process: Lessons Learned from Thailand's 1997 Constitutional Reform and Thailand's 2001 General Election

This article examines the role of Women and Constitution Network (WCN) in Thailand's 1997 constitutional legislation process. To be specific, the introduction of gender equality article, and its application in Thailand's 2001 General Election. This study uses qualitative methods to analyze the role of WCN in the legislation process of gender equality article. This study finds the law of gender equality is givin an opportunity to increase women political participation in Thailand. Through the constitutional guarantee of gender equality and support from civil society organizations, women's political participation is increased in Thailand's 2001 General Election.