Women and Songkran — A beautiful but unsafe place

But Songkran is not without its share of controversies. A survey by Suan Dusit Poll in March 2024, found that 32.43% out of 4,011 Bangkok residents in the past three years had been sexually harassed, 57.79% of the sample group were touched on the face with chalk powder, and 14.19% did not join the water fights because they were afraid of being harassed sexually (or had experienced that and decided to stop going).

It would be interesting to take a historical look at what Songkran has meant to women over the years. In his insightful book, “The Songkran Festival”, or “เทศกาลสงกรานต์”, published in 1958, Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, known by his pen name “Sathiankoset”, dwells at length on the various aspects of Songkran, from the origin of the festival, fashion, activities and women. Phraya Anuman is one of the respected Thai scholars, declared by UNESCO as a world-renowned person with distinguished works in the field of culture.

The 1950s — those were the days

Phraya Anuman quotes a woman (Page 86), who was once considered bold in her younger days, telling him: “Even if we dress up a lot, we will not be harmed [...] During Songkran, parents are not worried about their daughters. They let their daughters have fun, but within the bounds of morality.”

He offers insights into women's fashion during Songkran, too. He says that they would prepare for several days or weeks before the new year by dyeing the clothes with natural flower colour, preparing fragrance oil, accessories and getting their hair permed. Chewing betel nut was considered an enhancement to look seductive and bold. At that time, there was a saying for young men: “Judge elephants in winter, partners in summer”.

Winter is when elephants are likely to go into musth — a heightened aggression occurring in certain males — and the summer in the saying refers to Songkran when girls dress up at their prettiest.

Phraya Anuman also offers insights into some of the activities women took part in during Songkran in the 1950s. One of them involved plashing water on young monks in the temple.

Phraya Anuman on Page 159 of “The Songkran Festival” shows that During Songkran, certain strictures are relaxed. Young girls can go into monks’ residences and splash water on them.

Some women used to take the opportunity to get into water fights with the monk they liked. This was considered as a fun activity and people did not take offence to it during Songkran.

Taking on the men

Young men too were targeted by the women, says Phraya Anuman. Young girls would team up and capture the men one by one, putting “Din-Sor-Pong” — natural talcum chalk powder mixed with water — on their faces before letting them go. The men did the same thing to the women, the author says.

Such celebrations were frowned upon by the elderly. “The old generation could not stand the new generation dancing, saying they are nasty”. (page 182). But enough people considered them as “fun” and a “once-a-year thing” to continue those activities.

Phraya Anuman (Page 183) espouses the fun part of culture, too. “Having fun within a society is what is necessary in life. We need to release some emotion or else one can be so lecherous to death without letting them out.”

A conservative approach

Rawiwan Maneesang was born in 1947 and shares a different perspective about how people celebrated Songkran in the late 1960s and early 70s. Rawiwan said that girls back in her days neither showed their skin on Songkran days nor did they dress up more than usual.

“They wore proper clothes, not white dress, only those with prints and dark colours. I myself wore an old dark-coloured T-shirt for the water fights,” she said.

“There was no restriction on women [joining Songkran activities] at all … but the main activity was going to the temple. Not for a water fight but to do the ‘Song-Nam-Pra’ ceremony.” Song-Nam-Pra is a traditional Thai ceremony of pouring water on a Buddha statue, or in Rawiwan’s days at the feet of monks. She said her family and herself had always viewed Songkran as a family reunion and vacation time.

Rawiwan’s friend, 76-year-old Lalita Panawes, a former professor at Songkhla Rajabhat University who grew up in a Thai-Chinese family, says: “I was not allowed to join the water fights […] Chinese people are very strict with their children. Only water fights with siblings were allowed.” Both of them clarified that since they were from the southern province of Narathiwat, where the majority of the population are Muslims, their experience of Songkran might differ from those of people in Bangkok or other regions. They both agreed that women in those days were required by society to behave properly, such as being reserved, know housework and talk respectfully, which were the common values Thai society expected in women in addition to being pretty.

The lure of pageants

Beauty pageants have been unique spaces that opened up for women during Songkran. It goes a long way back, to 1939, five years after Thailand’s first beauty pageant, “Miss Siam”, was launched. Women found a space during Songkran in the “Miss Alms Songkran”, which was more a celebration of behaviour than mere physical beauty. Interestingly, Miss Alms Songkran did not first take place on a stage; it started on Wisut Kasat Street in the Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok.

Every year during Songkran, since 1935, Wisut Kasat Street became a major centre for mass celebrations, including mass alms in the morning on the first day of Songkran. The celebrations reached another level in 1939 with the launch of a new activity. Committee members handed out cards to girls with the best manners. The girl who won the most number of cards was declared the winner of the event. Songkran celebrations on Wisut Kasat Street came to a halt during the Great East Asia War but resumed in 1946 after the end of the war. Miss Alms Songkran was renamed “Miss Songkran Wisut Kasat”.

A research paper by Ankaret Boonthongluan in 1994, “The evolution of the image of physical beauty of the women in Thai society: Miss Thailand case study”, offers interesting details. In the launch year of Miss Alms Songkran, Miss Siam was renamed Miss Thailand and the candidates were judged for their ladylike qualities, natural beauty and good manners.

“All contestants needed to be present on both days. On the first day they joined a worship ceremony of Chandrmondol Sobhon Bhagiawati, Princess Wisutkrasat — the princess of Siam and daughter of King Mongkut and Queen Debsirindra — after whom Wisut Kasut Street was named. The contestants joined the parade around Rattanakosin island — the historic area of Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok. The route included Khao San Road, the Grand Palace and Bang Khun Phrom Palace,” Sataporn Boonampai, a 51-year-old Miss Songkran Wisut Kasat coordinator and Wisut Kasat community secretary, said.

“On the second day [April 13], we do the alms at 7am, Song Nam Phra, pour water on the hands and feet of elders for blessings, and free animals — usually birds or fish — for merit. The contest follows that schedule and finishes before noon,” Sataporn said. There are more unique elements of Miss Songkran Wisut Kasat that distinguish it from other beauty contests. “We do the contest in the daytime and so you cannot do too much makeup, there is no lighting to help, you need to really be gorgeous. Everyone needs to dress up in the Thai Chitralada costume.”

Sataporn said the costume usually comes with an umbrella to protect the contestants from the strong April sun but this year it will be put aside. 2024 is the first year that the Wisut Kasat community will hold the event at night-time due to the severe heat.

Not only young women but kids aged 6-9 and older women above 50 also have their own contests: Little Miss Songkran Wisut Kasat and Miss Senior Songkran Wisut Kasat. The men are in the race too for the title of Mister Songkran Wisut Kasat.

Miss Songkran beauty pageant is not limited to the Wisut Kasat community but can be found in local communities in every part of Thailand.

Dealing with the oglers

It’s not only the women on stage who have to deal with oglers. It is one the reasons why many women wear dark coloured clothes during Songkran. But that still does not help their bodies escape visual, verbal and even physical violation.

According to a 2004 report of the Ministry of Public Health, over 500,000 women were sexually harassed during Songkran. In 2017, the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMP.) carried out a survey among 1,650 women aged 10-40. The results showed that 59.3% of women were sexually harassed but only a quarter of them had chosen to report on their experience.

WMP. made another survey in March 2023 on 1,725 Bangkok residents. The survey showed 96.5% were, or know people who experienced, or were touched on the face with chalk powder and 87.9% were catcalled or looked at in a way that made them uncomfortable.

Memory of molestation

Ms A, who prefers to remain anonymous, shared her painful experience. “It was Songkran day and I was at that time 14 or 15 years old. I went for a water fight with my friends. We went by motorcycle and I was the passenger. We had been playing all day and were about to go back home.”

“On the way, there was a gang of men — more than 10, maybe 20 in number. They asked us to stop by and because they already occupied half of the street, they held the handle of my friend’s motorcycle and we had to stop. They put chalk powder on our faces and their hands went down to my breasts. I screamed loudly and told my rider friend to leave. We were so mad but did not dare to do anything because there were so many of them and we did not want to put ourselves in danger.” Ms A said that she never went to a water fight again except one time with her family.

“I don’t want anyone at all to have a bad Songkran memory like I do,” she said. “Those men must have forgotten all about this already. But I cannot.”

This year the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security have launched a campaign, “Safe Songkran, we have regard for each other’s rights”. The campaign aims to raise awareness on sexual harassment during Songkran, to create understanding on how to respect people’s rights and to stop harassment in every form, regardless of gender.