Smells Like Teen Spirit
Coming Soon…
“No one's liberated without everyone [being] liberated, right?”
Those words belong to Nitchakarn “Memee” Rakwongrit, a Thai youth activist who has become a prominent voice for democracy and feminist struggle. She was born in rural Mahasarakham province in northeastern Thailand’s Isaan region, an area long tied to grassroots movements for democracy and economic justice, yet often dismissed by Bangkok elites. Memee’s father was a staunch supporter of the Red Shirts, a grassroots pro-democracy movement opposing the Thai military and royalist establishment. He encouraged her to think critically, debate with adults, and form opinions on social issues. “My dad is really a political person,” she says. “He always turns on the news and encourages me to question things.” Her mother, while less political, supported Memee’s independence and provided opportunities she never had herself. This early environment nurtured both confidence and curiosity— traits that later fueled her own activism.
At sixteen, Memee moved to Bangkok for high school. Choosing to leave that setting carried real significance: it meant stepping away from a community rooted in local struggles and into the heart of Thailand’s political center, where inequality was visible everywhere. She had already been active in online discussions about politics, but living in the capital exposed her to activism in real time. The turning point came in June 2020, when Thai dissident Wanchalerm Satsaksit was abducted outside his Phnom Penh apartment in Cambodia. Outrage spread quickly, and in Bangkok, protesters gathered at the Cambodian Embassy to demand answers. Memee felt compelled to join. That demonstration became her first public protest — and the moment she began her life as an activist. She later described it as if a curtain had been torn away, revealing the raw face of authoritarian power that no one could ignore.
Although her entry into protest came through political outrage, Memee was already immersed in feminist ideas. Reading about gender justice and sexual harassment resonated deeply with her personal experiences of having been “slut-shamed” and harassed from a young age. She speaks candidly about how those memories gave her both pain and motivation, saying she never wanted other girls to feel the same sense of isolation. This blend of personal experience and structural injustice shaped her feminist outlook. By August 2020, she had joined the Women’s Liberation Group, later renamed the Feminist Liberation Front Thailand, which was active during the massive student-led pro-democracy demonstrations. She helped inject gender perspectives into these protests, most memorably by adapting the Chilean feminist anthem “A Rapist in Your Path” into Thai, which she and her peers performed at rallies. The performance raised awareness about sexual violence and encouraged survivors to speak out, though it also drew backlash from conservative groups. These were moments when state-backed trolls and conservative watchdogs descended with venom, showing how every challenge to authority unleashed an entire ecosystem of intimidation.
Memee's vision of feminism is inclusive and practical. She emphasizes gender justice for all identities, particularly trans women and LGBTQ+ communities, which she considers inherently part of Thailand’s feminist movement. For her, feminism is not just platitudes but involves real lived practice, grounded in collective solidarity and mutual care. “For me, feminism is not just...a theory with big words or vocabulary, but how we are really living our life,” she says. Memee adds how much safer she felt in feminist circles compared to traditional political spaces, insisting that these collectives are essential in countering patriarchal competition and creating supportive environments.
On October 25, 2020, Memee gave a speech in Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong Road about women in prison and political detainees. Soon after, even though she was only sixteen years old, she was arrested under Thailand’s emergency decree and public assembly law. Though mistakenly charged due to a police mix-up, she refused diversion programs that would have sidelined her activism. Instead, she defended herself in court by invoking constitutional rights and international conventions. In the end, she was acquitted, making hers the first juvenile political case from the 2020 protests to result in a favorable verdict. Memee describes how nerve-wracking it was to face prosecutors as a teenager, yet also how empowering it felt to assert her rights in that moment. But behind the courtroom walls, she could feel the machinery of the state tightening, each case a reminder of how quickly the government was willing to criminalize youthful dissent.
Memee's legal troubles did not stop there. Between 2020 and 2022 she faced at least seven cases, including defamation charges and lawsuits tied to protests demanding COVID-19 vaccines for youth. Authorities sometimes imposed humiliating punishments, such as cleaning monarchy statues and polishing police riot shields while being photographed. “If you want me to do something useful for the Ministry, why don't you just ask me to clean the hospital?” she asks rhetorically. “But no, they just wanted the symbolic things.” These acts were designed to shame her, but she persevered, humorously referring to her prosecutions as “certificates of activism.” Each summons, each police visit, carried the weight of a system determined to break her, part of an authoritarian theater designed to crush hope.
In 2021, as protests began to lose momentum, Memee turned to symbolic acts of defiance. Most famously, she shaved her head on stage during a feminist rally known as the “Naked Mob.” She was defiant, declaring: “I will shave my head until this Prime Minister quits!” In Thai culture, where a woman’s hair symbolizes beauty, the act was shocking, and even her father was uncomfortable. For Memee, though, it was both personal catharsis and a public plea to reignite attention to democracy.
Repression and constant legal battles took a toll, however. She was doxed, with her personal information leaked online by right-wing groups. Friends fled into exile, languished in prison, or in one tragic case, activist Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom died in detention. Many young activists developed PTSD from violent arrests. To address this, Memee helped establish a “Well-Being Initiative” that provided safe spaces and support for peers coping with trauma. She insists that movements cannot survive if activists burn out, and solidarity must include mental health as much as political goals. Acknowledging her own moments of despair, she notes the shared care among her peers always helped her push forward. Yet she speaks, too, of the constant sense of being hunted: of knowing that at any time, police could show up at her door, that surveillance never truly ended, and that the authoritarian shadow loomed over every gathering.
Some critics accused her of becoming an activist simply because she was from Isaan, where people are poorer and more disadvantaged than those in the city, but Memee rejects this narrative. Instead, she insists that her activism comes from principle and political conscience, not class victimhood, and stresses that injustice is visible to anyone who is willing to look.
Eventually, Memee's political consciousness moved beyond the streets. She became a youth delegate for Amnesty International Thailand, representing Thai youth at Amnesty’s General Assembly in Brussels. She also served as an ambassador for Bangkok’s LGBTQ Pride. In 2023 she entered formal politics as Deputy Secretary-General of the Commoners Party, showing her determination to bridge grassroots activism with electoral politics. She presents her move into formal politics as carrying the same ideals into a different arena.
Her role in the Milk Tea Alliance brought her prominence across the region. What began as an online meme linking youth from Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan grew into a transnational pro-democracy movement. “It gave me the privilege to be able to listen to broader perspective and border experiences,” she says. Memee currently manages the Milk Tea Alliance Thailand accounts, using them to spotlight struggles across Asia, especially in Myanmar.
Since the 2021 coup, she has worked to amplify Burmese voices, debunked junta disinformation, and advocated for refugees in Thailand. She even delivered petitions to Thai parliament demanding sanctions on Myanmar’s junta, including blocking its use of Thai banks for arms purchases. On a more personal level, Memee also describes how deeply moved she feels meeting Burmese refugees in Thailand, and how their resilience has given her much strength in her projects. Yet she also admits the risks— working in solidarity with Myanmar’s opposition has meant crossing paths with powerful interests who wanted her silenced. It was a dangerous dance with authoritarianism that extended across borders.
Through initiatives like “Thai Students for Burma,” Memee has built bridges between Thai and Burmese youth, creating dialogue where nationalist propaganda once fostered division. “Bringing the communities to meet with each other, just knowing what is happening, and not to be ignorant of what is happening in neighboring countries,” she says by way of explanation. Memee emphasizes that understanding Myanmar’s trauma has helped Thai students see their own struggles in perspective and deepened solidarity. And paradoxically, she notes that it has even been safer for her at times to speak out on Burmese causes than to directly challenge Thailand’s own establishment.
For Memee, activism is not only resistance but also joy. She believes that fun is essential because it sustains mental health, attracts participation, and counters authoritarian attempts to instill fear. Milk Tea Alliance campaigns often incorporate humor, memes, and pop culture, from selling stickers by BL (Boys’ Love) artists to raise funds for Myanmar relief to staging creative protests. She sees this spirit of fun as part of the Alliance’s DNA, born from playful memes mocking authoritarian leaders. “I feel like we are a hilarious community, and we are always talking about funny things,” she says. “Fun has two benefits to the movement. First, it is good for mental health in the community, and the second is that fun is chill, and attracts more people to join,” she says.
Memee often reflects on the generational divides within Thai activism. Older Thais, shaped by decades of state propaganda, frequently cling to nationalist narratives — including lingering resentment toward Myanmar for the historic sacking of Ayutthaya. This prejudice, she notes, is routinely weaponized against Burmese communities: “They use Myanmar people as tools, and use nationalist narratives as tools.”
For younger activists, the landscape looks different. Gen Z’s access to global networks and social media has created new possibilities for transnational solidarity, and Memee believes her generation is more open-minded and willing to move beyond old divisions. Still, she cautions that reliance on short-form platforms like TikTok risks superficial engagement. As she puts it: “Young activists need some successful stories from seniors so we can think of ways to move forward.”
At just twenty-one, Memee has already become one of Thailand’s most visible young activists. Her journey, from a teenager compelled to join a protest to a feminist leader and transnational advocate, shows what youth-driven change can achieve. She has faced courts, prison threats, and harassment, yet remains committed to democracy, gender justice, and cross-border solidarity. For Memee, the struggle is as much about survival as it is about freedom, and her voice continues to serve as a bridge linking Thailand’s struggles with those of Myanmar and beyond.