Adisorn Ieasakul

Mayor
Nong Khai
Thailand

Entering Local Politics

I am a native of Nong Khai Province. I am married Mr Kimsie Ieasakul who is in the construction business. We have four sons and one daughter. I, a high school graduate, after marriage took care of the children. I was later elected Mayor of Nong Khai in June 1980. I have served four consecutive terms in office (16 years), and hope to hold office for a long time to come.

I have had relatives in politics all my life. Many of my relatives are now politicians. My nephew is the Minister for Labour. I have an older brother who is an MP, and a cousin who is the chairman of the Municipal Council.

There were four important factors which made me decide to enter local politics. Firstly, the support encouragement and political advice of my husband; secondly, my family situation, my children were growing up and my financial situation was secure; thirdly I was active in the community, helping people with their problems; and fouthly, I was respected in the community.

A Woman's Perspective

At the beginning, when I first became Mayor, I encountered some problems and obstacles due to the fact that I was a woman. People in the municipality office were reluctant to accept my authority and had little confidence in my abilities. Many members of the council held the view that a woman's place was in the home, and her duties were to take care of the family. Some also believed that working with a woman would be irritating because 'all women are fussy'. I overcame these problems by taking good care of my employees, as if they were family. I have earned their respect and trust, through showing strong leadership, often having to make tough decisions; establishing a planning system, dealing with the necessities of administration and improving efficiency; and working on public relations and promotion of the municipality's work. Today the office runs efficiently and good cooperation from the public, results in overall good work. I do not really feel I face discrimination now, due to the length of my tenure. If problems of discrimination occur I tend to ignore them.

During my time as Mayor, I have proposed several policies to the municipality on women's issues, for example, policies to increase women's cooperation and participation in municipal matters and policies to provide opportunities and alternatives to women other than being housewives. To improve the status of women in general, I have set up community housewives groups, with the intention of increasing women's roles in the community. I have also initiated short term career training to increase the income of women. Another programme we have worked on, is to set up women volunteer groups for public health to train women to train in public health so that they can take their knowledge and publicize it in their communities.

Breaking The Barriers

The main reasons which prevent or restrict women from entering the political arena are cultural and social. The prevailing belief is that women belong in the home and politics should be left to men. Other difficulties may include financing, lack of support groups and people to back them. To encourage women to participate in local government, the following changes should be made: women should be employed at every level and department and should be able to enter with equal qualifications; women's organizations should be supported vigorously; there should be a general promotion of women's role in society and outstanding women in society should be recognized. Women these days should take an active role governance. Today, women have more opportunities to participate in local government and I believe that women want to work for the benefit of society.

I think women leaders do have a responsibility in promoting female participation in politics, and I believe the best way that women leaders are able to assist other women in entering politics and in positions of decision making in general is through their own behavior and achievements. Women leaders often show honesty and sincerity and I think women are often better at coordination and organization.

Perceptions of women in politics in Thailand have changed for the better over the past 10 years. The number of Members of Parliament and the number of women participating in Local Government has increased. In Nong Khai one other member of the Municipality is a woman, and two members of Nong Khai Council are women.

During my four terms in office I have received many awards. These include several awards in Education Management from the national government, awards in Teenager Activity Promotions also from national government; honesty prizes form the Ministry of the Interior and the media; and also awards in social administration and business leadership from the media.

My future ambitions, as Mayor of Nong Khai include, the building of 5 municipal schools; a community market in the centre of the town to buy and sell products made in the Nong Khai area; a garbage control centre to try and address some of the town's environmental problems; concrete roads in alleys and lanes; sewers to cover the whole of the municipal area; and a water treatment system. I also wish to improve and modernize the municipality's management and administration. As well as improving the information system to understand people's needs better and to develop policy and plans in accordance.

I have been elected for another term of 4 years which will take my duration in office to 20 years. I hope serve as Mayor of Nong Khai for as long as possible.