28-year-old Kath Khangpiboon vows to take further legal actions
BANGKOK – Transgender lecturer Kath Khangpiboon who was fired for ‘inappropriate behavior’ has lost her appeal to one of the most prestigious universities in Thailand.
This comes despite full support from the Faculty of Social Administration at Thammasat University for Kath Khangpiboon as an external lecturer, according to the Asian Correspodent.
‘I will take further legal steps at the Administrative Court of Thailand,’ said the 28-year-old, who has been fighting her case for months since her dismissal in March.
‘In the courts my case could take months, or even years, but I am determined to go all the way to Constitutional Court.’
School authorities said she had put up social media posts deemed not ‘acceptable for a Thammasat lecturer’. These included an Instagram post allegedly containing images of a penis-shaped lipstick from Japan.
Kath, a reowned LGBTI activist in Southeast Asia, said it was the first time the university considered social media activity in its employment criteria, maintaining the dismissal was based on her transgender identity.
Her experiences have earlier prompted an editorial from the Bangkok Post against an ‘ugly, intolerant and intolerable mood of anti-LGBT’ that is often ‘hidden by a smile’.
Despite being caught in the dispute with her alma mater, Kath has not stopped her human rights campaign.
She attended a forum in Bangkok earlier this week that sought to accelerate the end of AIDS and other epidemics.
‘Marginalized key populations most times don’t have access and information to health because the government is not interested in our social welfare or justice for us,’ she said.