in activism and protests). The People's Movement played a quintessential role in the 1973 student uprising anti-military demonstrations in Bangkok (now enshrined in the memories of Thai people as hok tulaa) which aided in the Thai State becoming an 'unstable democracy' beginning in 1973. This 1973 movement was highly publicized though the platform of feminist journalists, alongside the academic, professional, and public institutions of its time. See-History of Thailand (1973–2001) 1970s Feminism in the 1970s in the Thai state gained momentum through the 1974 constitutional change of an Equal Rights Protection Law. The Equal Rights Protection Law was the first in Thai history to focus on women's issues and gender equality. This law was a foundational step towards the proliferation of women's groups in the Thai State. In 1976 there was a right-wing backlash against the Thai People's Movement and women's groups from students in Thammasat University. The army and right-wing organization "The Scouts" spread propaganda that the pro-democratic liberal Thammasat University students were communists who would lead to the downfall of Thailand as they were 'working with the underground'. In October 1976 'The Scouts' engulfed Thammasat University and began to open fire on the university's grounds. Though Thai police were present, it is said that the police were of no aid to the seventy activists who were killed, hidden, and buried. Women's group participants were raped, sexually mutilated, and buried alive. After this backlash against Thailand's unstable democracy the Thai state defaulted back to its past dictatorship rule, with many who participated in 'The Scout's' organization fled to the forest to become 'guerrillas'. 1980s Throughout the late 1970s to early 1980s Thailand began to shift away from communism due to the lack of support from China. This shift away from hierarchical structures facilitated a political climate which would become The International Women's Decade 1975-1985. This political movement paved the way for the foundation of women's studies programs, and in 1985 the elimination of many governmental forms of discrimination against women. The 1980s also brought a rise in a higher ratio of women to men in tertiary education. 1990s The 1990s feminist movement focused on political equality between genders. In 1992 Thai activists participated in Operation Black, a peaceful protest by which the people help demonstrations against Thailand's 1992 ‘illegitimate’ Prime Minister. 2000s Thailand outlawed marital rape in 2007. In 2011 the Thai state appointed Yingluck Shinawatra as the first