WORLD NEWS JANUARY 3, 2019 / 6:21 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Thailand's rebel female Buddhist monks defy tradition

Patpicha Tanakasempipat
4 MIN READ

NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand (Reuters) - Boodsabann Chanthawong recently joined a growing number of women defying generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at an unrecognized all-female monastery outside Bangkok.

Leading a procession of 21 other women - from teenagers to senior citizens - to a chapel in the Songdhammakalyani monastery in Nakhon Pathom province, Boodsabann teared up as she prepared to exchange her white garments for the distinctive saffron robes otherwise seen almost exclusively on male monks.

“I’m going to overcome this obstacle and become ordained like I’ve always wanted,” the 49-year-old businesswoman said before the ceremony on Dec. 5, where she would have her head shaved. She stayed for nine days at the temple.

Officially, only men can become monks and novices in Thailand under a Buddhist order that since 1928 has forbidden the ordination of women. The country does not recognize female monks or novices.

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