PRIDE PIONEER

Waaddao was born twice.

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In real life, people call her after her nom de plume, a combination of her grandmother’s name with her own fragment. She changed her legal name to Ann Chumaporn (her last name from her former self) to break free from a patriarchal family.

“But there is no bad feeling between us. Renaming is just an act of liberation. I am born again,” she said in an interview.

President and founder of Bangkok Pride, Waaddao joined the Bangkok Post Forum, which ran under the theme “Women Vision 2025: Her Story Our Story” at House Samyan Cinema on March 13 to mark International Women’s Day. Waaddao was also one of BBC's 100 Women of 2024, recognised for the impact of their work on society.

As a lesbian activist from the South, Waaddao has been advocating human rights for over a decade. She proposed an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code to allow individuals to register their marriage on behalf of a civil society network in 2023. Prior to that, she spearheaded the Feminist’s Liberation Front, the Samanchon Party and many campaigns for gender justice.

Her long march began at her village in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Growing up in a patriarchal family, she recalled that while her brother could play outside, she and her sister had to do household chores. While men could engage in public conversation at rong nam cha (teahouse in southern provinces), women were confined at home. It dawned on her later that it was an exclusively male sphere.

“This kind of structure remains. That is why I called my first group rong nam cha or TEA (Togetherness for Equality and Action) to advocate gender and politics,” she said.

At the age of eight, her parents sent her to a boarding school. Being away from home at a young age catapulted her into isolation and depression. However, she became more self-aware and independent. In this environment, she felt attracted to other female students and learned that same-sex relationships exist. At the time, there were only