Thailand is set to have its first female prime minister in Yingluck Shinawatra, younger sister of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Her victory as leader of the opposition Pheu Thai party has raised hopes that women can play a larger role in the country’s male-dominated politics. But many question if she can emerge from her brother’s shadow, let alone challenge Thai society’s cultural and social barriers for women.
泰国第一位女总理英拉.西那瓦很快就要就职了。英拉.西那瓦是被推翻的前总理他信.西那瓦的妹妹。她作为反对党为泰党的领袖所取得的胜利使人们更有希望看到泰国女性在男性占主导地位的泰国政坛将发挥更大的作用。但也有些人怀疑她能否走出哥哥的阴影，更不用说跨越泰国社会给女性造成的文化与社会障碍了。
Yingluck Shinawatra emerged victorious in one of the most high-stakes elections in Thailand’s recent history.
英拉.西那瓦在泰国近期历史上关系最为重大的一次选举中当选获胜。
Her Pheu Thai party won a comfortable majority in a rebuke to Thailand’s traditional elite, who backed the ruling Democrat party of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
她的为泰党在对传统精英构成严重教训的一场选举中轻松赢得多数议席，那些传统精英支持执政的民主党籍的总理阿披实。
The 44-year-old businesswoman is now preparing to hold her first political office as Thailand’s first female prime minister.
这位44岁的女商人现在正准备以泰国第一位女总理的身份步入政坛。
She says Thailand, after years of political turmoil and sporadic street violence, can benefit from having a woman in charge.
她说，在多年的政治动乱和零星的街头暴力之后，泰国可以从一位女性掌权获益。
"I think I can use as the female to talk with everyone to make the country… move forward by the peaceful strategy," she said.
英拉说：“我认为，我可以利用自己的女性身份和大家谈话，使国家以和平的方式向前进。”
But Yingluck’s critics say she is just a proxy for her older brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a divisive leader who was in 2006 ousted by the military.
可是，批评英拉的人则说，英拉只不过是她哥哥、前总理他信.西那瓦的代言人。他信是泰国引起分歧的一位领导人，他在2006年被军人推翻。
The coup led to a years-long power struggle between Bangkok’s traditional rulers and Thaksin’s supporters, whose protests virtually shut-down central Bangkok, last year.
那场政变导致泰国传统的统治者和他信的支持者之间一场长达数年的权力斗争。去年，他信的支持者进行的抗议活动几乎使曼谷市中心陷于瘫痪。
Armed elements among the protesters fought street battles with soldiers sent to end their demonstration.
抗议者当中的武装分子与派去结束他们示威活动的军人进行了街头战斗。
More than 90 people were killed, most of them civilians.
有90多人被打死，其中多数是平民。
In response to the violence, more than 60 women’s organizations teamed up to form the Women Network Reshaping Thailand to push for more involvement by women in politics. In recent years women have comprised just about 15 percent of the country’s elected leaders.
为了对那次暴力事件做出反应，60多家妇女组织联合成立了一个叫做重塑泰国妇女网络的组织，推动更多的妇女参与政治。近年来，泰国女性只占该国当选领导人的15%。
Coordinator Sutada Mekrungruengkul compares Thailand’s current divisions to two boys fighting in a schoolyard.
协调人苏塔达把泰国目前的分裂比作两个男孩儿在校园里打架。
"Our feeling, our solution, our suggestion is to talk or to sit down and talk. Maybe we don’t need to fight. We don’t need to grab the authority and get rid of another person," said Sutada.
苏塔达说：“我们的感觉，我们的解决方案和我们的建议就是对话，坐下来对话。我们也许不需要战斗。我们不必揪住当局，把另一个人干掉。”
Thai businesses are already a world leader in hiring women executives. A recent survey reported about 30 percent of companies are led by female CEOs.
泰国商界在雇用女主管方面已经在世界上处于领先地位。最近的一次调查显示，泰国大约有30%的公司的首席执行官是由女性担任的。
But women still lag in politics.
可是泰国女性在从政方面还是处于落后状态的。
Despite Yingluck’s high-profile candidacy, all major parties in the election, including her own, largely ignored constitutional guidelines calling for proportional representation of female candidates.
尽管英拉的候选人身份引人注目，但是这次选举中所有政党，包括她自己的政党，基本上都忽视了宪法指导方针有关按比例推选女性候选人的要求。
Women made up 16 percent of Pheu Thai’s nominated candidates while the ruling Democrats included 11 percent, with most at the bottom of the list.
在为泰党提名的候选人中，女性占16%；而执政的民主党中获得提名的候选人只有11%的女性，而且其中大多数女性候选人在候选人名单中处于垫底的地位。
At a pre-election conference for female top party list candidates, only a few women were represented and none seemed interested in discussing the lack of support for women in politics.
在一次确定党内前几名女性候选人的选前会议上，只有很少一些女性出席，而且她们当中没有一个人看来愿意讨论女性从政缺乏支持的问题。
Sutada says too many women candidates quickly learn political rhetoric just to get elected and have little interest in pushing parties to put forward more female candidates.
苏塔达说，许多女性候选人很快就学会了只是为了当选所需要讲的一套政治辞令。她们并没有兴趣推动政党提出更多的女性候选人。
“This is from the culture I think. By law you have to comply but by nature or by culture you ignore. Automatically ignore,” said Sutada.
苏塔达说：“我想这是文化的原因。按照法律，你必须遵守。可是出于天性和文化方面的原因，你就会忽视这些，而且是自动忽视的。”
Sutada says it is too early to tell what Yingluck’s rise will mean for women’s role in politics or the effort to reconcile Thailand’s bitter political divisions.
苏塔达说，现在就说英拉的崛起对女性从政的作用或者对化解泰国严重的政治分歧所做的努力意味着什么还为时过早。
The Pheu Thai party is contemplating granting amnesty for political activists and banned politicians. Yingluck is also considering pardoning her brother, who has lived in exile since 2008 to avoid a jail term for corruption.
为泰党正在考虑对政治活动人士和被禁止的政界人士实行特赦。英拉也在考虑赦免她哥哥他信。自从2008年以来，他信为避免由于腐败罪的指控被判刑一直流亡国外。
Thaksin Shinawatra’s return could spark another round of unrest in Thailand, but Yingluck says his return is not a priority right now.
尽管他信回国可能会在泰国激起新一轮的动乱，但英拉说，她哥哥的返回一事并不是目前优先考虑的问题。
“I would like to say that amnesty just only like the technique, one technique, of the reconciliation process," she said. "But, we don’t aim for the amnesty at this time. We aim that how we can move Thailand, how we can make Thailand move forward, how we can help Thailand to be the unity as one.”
英拉说：“我想说的是，特赦就像和解进程中的一个技术。可是，我们现在的目标并不是特赦。我们的目标是如何让泰国向前发展，如何能帮助泰国团结一心。”
As Yingluck prepares to take office in the coming weeks, all of Thailand will be waiting to see whether her untested political skills can overcome the country’s deep divisions - or if she can change broader political attitudes among both men and women.
正当英拉为她几个星期后就职做准备的时候，所有泰国人都在拭目以待，看她尚未经过考验的政治技巧能否克服泰国存在的严重分裂，或者她是否能改变泰国男女的政治态度。 |