Ordained in Sri Lanka in 2003, Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, 73, is Thailand’s first fully-ordained Theravada bhikkhuni (female monastic). Known as Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, she made headlines last year when she was barred from going inside the Grand Palace to pay tribute to the late King Bhumibol because the Thai Sangharaja Council of Elders does not recognize female monks. As Women’s Day (Mar 8) approaches, we chat to this progressive force in Thai Buddhism, who is head of the all-woman Songdhammakalyani Monastery in Nakhon Pathom, as she gears up to receive the Women’s Human Rights Defenders Honorary Certificate from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand.