An Alumna's Tireless Effort to Combat Trafficking
By Terundu Ugondo

Saisuree Chutikul, '56, was seven years old when her piano teacher first put her hands on Chutikul''s hands and prayed, "God, please use these hands for Your Glory."

A passionate pianist, Chutikul has used her hands for more than music. She became one of the first Thai women to earn a doctoral degree and has served in capacities from cabinet minister to senator in the Thai government. Through her long career, she has passionately fought for the rights of women and children.

Whitworth helped lay the groundwork for Chutikul's calling.

"The quality of the curriculum and teaching, the Christian commitment and the values taught and manifested in activities organized on and off campus had a very strong impact on me," Chutikul said.

A Bangkok native, she earned degrees in music and education at Whitworth before going on to earn her master's and doctoral degrees at Indiana University.

Chutikul's mother, though, had laid the foundation for her to go against the grain. Her mother married into a traditional Chinese family where women were discriminated against. But she fought that tradition and became the first female president of Presbyterian Women in Thailand, and she worked hard to encourage gender equality. "She was my inspiration," Chutikul said.

Because of her mother's role in the church and community, Chutikul decided to follow her mother's steps by advocating for the rights of women and children in Thailand. She learned that the rights of women and children are human rights, as well.

Her mother's role and her own first job at a university led to her focus on combating human trafficking.

For Chutikul, human rights are Christian principles and the principles of other religions as well.

"We really need to care for the others as God has taught us," she said.

Chutikul's work has centered on the rights and protection of women, children and disadvantaged groups. She has been a cabinet minister, chair for the committee on trafficking in children and women in Thailand, and chair of eight other government committees.

Most of her positions and functions have been for the rights of women and children. She has been working to help women and children who are exploited both within Thailand and across the borders since 1989.

As a cabinet minister, Chutikul was faced with challenges in terms of proposing and deciding on national policies that would benefit the people or target groups, taking initiative to have innovative strategies to deal with national issues and development in Thailand.

"As a woman in government, in general I have no problem with male colleagues. Perhaps what hurt me more is to find women who disagree or work against women's rights," Chutikul said.

She has been sensitive to other senators' agendas and most especially working as teams on how to initiate the changes in legal matters.

Trafficking continues because of the weakness of law enforcement, particularly the lack of human and financial resources for prosecution, Chutikul said.

Her commitment to the rights of women has been what she calls God's will and calling. Chutikul plans to implement children's rights and women's rights in Thailand, in the countries in the Thailand region and when possible in other regions as well.

"We are working on capacity building as well as putting a lot more effort to mobilize resources to overcome the barriers," she said.