Breaking Stereotypes: Thailand’s Transgender PM Candidate

Pauline Ngarmpring, Thailand's first transgender Prime Ministerial candidate is vying for the topmost position despite knowing that she won't win. Ngarmpring, Mahachon Party's member, has taken Thailand to greater heights as doing the same in neighboring Indonesia or Malaysia is unimaginable. Her candidature has become Thailand's symbol of tolerance.

Ngarmpring says she joined politics for 'democracy'. "I don't like a dictatorship. We are targeting six to seven seats, that means the chance of me becoming the PM is not too high. But this is an opportunity for me to educate people and tell people that we, the LGBT community exists." However, Thailand's complicated new electoral system has been effectively designed to ensure that no 'one' party wins a majority in the lower house. For this, Ngarmpring is ready to join and support an alliance of parties. She said Thailand is more tolerant to the LGBT community compared to neighbouring nations in the region because Thai people don't love or hate too much. However, Ngarmpring says, the law and rural areas still discriminated them. "Our society has two standards. People accept LGBT people on the street or on TV, but not in their families."

Her Mahachon Party broadly focuses on human rights, labour laws, fairer wage policy and increasing access to education.