Thailand

Located in southeast Asia, Thailand is bordered to the south by Laos and Myanmar, to the west by Laos and Cambodia, to the north by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the east by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar.

The majority of the population is in the age bracket of 15–64 (70.3 percent); and 8.5 percent are aged 65 years and over. The median age for males is 32 years, while the median age for females is 33.7 years. Of the approximately 65.5 million population, the total fertility rate of Thailand is 1.64 children born to every woman. In 2009, Thailand's birth rate was estimated at 13.4 births per 1,000 population, and the population growth rate is 0.62 percent. The infant mortality rate was 17.63 per 1,000 live births. The marriage rate was 5 per 1,000 population in 2004, and in 2003, the divorce rate was 1.28 per 1,000 couples.

Abortion is legal only to save the woman's life, to preserve her mental and physical health, and in cases of rape or incest. In 2000, the contraceptive prevalence rate was estimated at 79.2 percent, with oral contraceptives, female sterilization, and injectables the three most common methods. In 2006, the employment-to-population ratio for women age 15 and over was 65.2 percent, versus 79.7 percent for men. Women are entitled to 90 days paid maternity leave and cannot be dismissed due to pregnancy.

Since 2002, the Thai economy has been steadily on the rise; for example, in January 2009, due to a weakening U.S. dollar and the strengthening Thai currency, the dollar is now equivalent to approximately 35 baht (a 4.6 percent change from the previous year). Given the tumultuous global forecast, however, reports show that the Thai economy will likely suffer as well.

Thailand has also experienced some significant political instability in the last few years. In 2006, a bloodless coup d'état led to the forced removal of the then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Since then, a period of tumultuous reign ensued with four different prime ministers rotating through office, with the Democrats Party finally forming a government wherein Abhisit Vejjajiva was sworn in as Prime Minister in 2008. While it has been argued that Thai women are increasingly resisting motherhood and traditional gendered expectations by forgoing marriage for education and economic independence, traditional ideas about motherhood, women, femininity, men, and masculinity remain strong. Thai motherhood is closely linked to a women's sense of selfhood and femininity, situating “good” women as caring, nurturing, and responsible mothers. Monica Lindberg Falk observes that motherhood is greatly esteemed in Thai society, as the mother symbolizes virtue, selflessness, sacrifice, goodness, and forgiveness; children are always in debt to their mothers.