Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit is a Thai free speech activist and bookstore owner. She was a co-founder of the organisation Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy (abbreviated CAFÉ Democracy), an organization based out of her bookstore that aims to facilitate the free exchange of ideas. In 2016 she received the International Women of Courage Award.

Life and activism

Wattanapanit is from

Mae Hong Son Mae Hong Son ( th, แม่ฮ่องสอน, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in north-west Thailand, capital of Mae Hong Son Province. It is in the Shan Hills, near the border with Burma along the banks of the River Pai. As of 2018, the ...

. She graduated from

Payap University Payap University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยพายัพ; ), established in 1974, is a private and non-profit institution founded by the Foundation of the Church of Christ in Thailand. Payap University is a liberal arts and pre-pr ...

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

, Thailand. She holds a degree in business administration. Before engaging in free speech activism, she worked to raise money for forestry conservation. She worked in this capacity for Community Forest Support Group, a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

. In October 2011, Wattanapanit started the bookstore Book Re:public with Pinkaew Luangaramsri, an anthropologist at

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University ( CMU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่) is a public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. It ...

. After the

2014 Thai coup d'état On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), launched a coup d'état, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand, foll ...

, the new government forced Book Re:public to close. Wattanapanit was repeatedly brought to military camps (first Kawila Army Camp in Chiang Mai, then the Army Central Command) to pressure her to close the bookstore, and was made to sign an agreement pledging not to engage in political activity as a precondition for her release. After one year, Wattanapanit re-opened her bookstore, which also functioned as a forum for debate and a community center. In 2016, Wattanapanit won the International Women of Courage Award from the United States Department of State, making her the first Thai woman to win that award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wattanapanit, Rodjaraeg Living people Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Year of birth missing (living people)