section_path: Military service
section_name: Military service
paragraph_text: Military service
  
  In Thailand, both men and women are allowed to serve in the army. In 2005, the Thai Armed Forces lifted their ban on LGBT people serving in the military. Prior to this reform, LGBT people were exempted as suffering from a "mental disorder".
  
  All Thai citizens aged 21 and over who were assigned male at birth are required to participate in military conscription. Unless exempt, they must either volunteer to serve between six months and a year, or participate in a lottery drawing that determines who will serve from one to two years. Conscripts have been reported to sometimes face harassment, violence, and even human rights violations, and conscription is viewed with anxiety by many. Transgender women are exempt from conscription on the basis of having "gender identity disorder", but only if they can "prove" their gender. If a trans woman has undergone at least some gender-affirming medical procedures, such as hormone replacement therapy or breast augmentation, she has a high chance of being exempt after going through a medical examination which can be stressful and humiliating to some. Those who have not are required to submit to extensive psychological evaluation.