NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand (Reuters) – Boodsabann Chanthawong recently joined a growing number of women defying generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at an unrecognized all-female monastery outside Bangkok.

A devotee has her hair cut by a female Buddhist monk during a mass female Buddhist novice monk ordination ceremony at the Songdhammakalyani monastery, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand, December 5, 2018. Officially, only men can become monks and novices in Thailand under a Buddhist order that, since 1928, has forbidden the ordination of women. A growing number of women defy generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at the unrecognised all-female monastery. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Leading a procession of 21 other women – from teenagers to senior citizens – to a chapel in the Songdhammakalyani monastery in Nakhon Pathom province, Boodsabann teared up as she prepared to exchange her white garments for the distinctive saffron robes otherwise seen almost exclusively on male monks.

“I’m going to overcome this obstacle and become ordained like I’ve always wanted,” the 49-year-old businesswoman said before the ceremony on Dec. 5, where she would have her head shaved. She stayed for nine days at the temple.

Read more