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Matcha Phorn-in
Matcha Phorn-in (Thai: มัจฉา พรอินทร์; born 1979/1980)[1] is a Thai feminist and activist for indigenous and LGBT rights. Early lifeMatcha grew up in Isan, as a member of an ethnic minority,[2] and was raised by a poor single mother.[3][4] These factors led her to be bullied in school.[3] Starting at age 9, she began to work on the weekends to support herself and her mother.[3] Matcha was able to attend university after receiving a scholarship.[3] After graduating, she participated in a one-year graduate program at Thammasat University.[3] ActivismMatcha is the executive director of Sangsan Anakot Yaowachon, an organization which supports youth from marginalized communities, primarily in the villages on Thailand's border with Myanmar.[2][5] She founded the organization in 2007.[5] In the organization's first decade, it was able to provide scholarship to 1,000 children, but the program was discontinued in the late 2010s due to lack of financial support.[5] Matcha is a board member of International Family Equality Day (IFED),[6] and a former board member of ILGA Asia.[3] She is a regional council member of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD).[3] Matcha has also spoken in favor of legal abortion up to 20 weeks, compared to Thailand's stricter legal standard of 12 weeks.[7][8] In 2020 and 2021, Matcha criticized the Thai government for not providing financial aid to ethnic minorities, who consequently were more harshly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] RecognitionIn 2023, Matcha was named to the BBC's 100 Women list as one of the world's inspiring and influential women of the year..[10] Personal lifeMatcha is a lesbian.[2] Her partner also works at Sangsan Anakot Yaowachon.[5] Matcha also has an adopted daughter, her biological niece, who was born in the early 2000s to Matcha 's younger brother.[5][11][12] After he and his wife separated, their daughter was raised by her grandmother, until Phorn-in took her in at age 9.[12] However, Phorn-in was not able to legally adopt her daughter until she became a legal adult, as her extended family objected to Matcha having a woman as a partner.[11][13] Matcha and her family live in San Kamphaeng, Chiang Mai.[4][12] In 2016, a neighbor set fires near their home several times, which Matcha believed were driven by homophobia; despite reports made to the police, no action was taken.[12] References
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