Thai Female Lawyers To Fight Law That Bans Them From Wearing Trousers in court

Female lawyers in Thailand are fighting back against an archaic law that prohibits them from wearing trousers in court. Thai PBS World reports that the Human Rights Lawyers Association has teamed up with the Nitihub forum for public discussion to petition the Thai Bar Association to change the law. Both groups say they will take their complaint to the Central Administrative Court if they don’t get anywhere with the Bar Association.

The petition is addressed to the president of the Bar Association and states that a number of complaints have been received from female lawyers who claim judges have told them off for daring to wear trousers to court. The complainants also allege that opposition male lawyers have mocked them for not adhering to the dress code.

According to the HRLA, it has previously submitted a letter to the president of the Supreme Court and the Lawyers Council Under the Royal Patronage. The letter requested that a revised dress code be issued that didn’t prohibit female lawyers from wearing trousers in court. However, Thai PBS World reports that the Office of the President of the Supreme Court responded by saying that if lawyers were entitled to wear the Thai Bar robe, they should do so in accordance with the dress code etiquette issued by the Lawyers Council of Thailand.

Representatives of the female lawyers petitioning for change say the law is outdated and that dressing professionally in an internationally acceptable manner should be enough. So far, the petition from HRLA and Nitihub, which is being hosted on the Change.org platform, has garnered over 4,100 signatures.