Matcha Phorn-in

Matcha Phorn-in (Thai: มัจฉา พรอินทร์; born 1979/1980)^[1] is a Thai feminist and activist for indigenous and LGBT rights.

Matcha Phorn-in
มัจฉา พรอินทร์
Matcha in 2017 interview
Born	1979 or 1980 (age 45–46) Isan, Thailand

Early life

Matcha grew up in Isan,^[2][3] and was raised by a poor single mother.^[4][5] These factors led her to be bullied in school.^[4] Starting at age 9, she began to work on the weekends to support herself and her mother.^[4]

Matcha was able to attend university after receiving a scholarship.^[4] After graduating, she participated in a one-year graduate program at Thammasat University.^[4]

Activism

Matcha 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][3] She founded the organization in 2007.^[3] 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.^[3]

Matcha is a board member of International Family Equality Day (IFED),^[6] and a former board member of ILGA Asia.^[4] She is a regional council member of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD).^[4]

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]

Recognition

In 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 life

Matcha is a lesbian.^[2] Her partner also works at Sangsan Anakot Yaowachon.^[3] Matcha also has an adopted daughter, her biological niece, who was born in the early 2000s to Matcha's younger brother.^[3][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.^[5][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]