Recognizing the Bunny Hash for all the good that they do
Years ago there was some level of complaint on the part of our female Hashers that the Monday Chiang Mai Hash events were strictly men only. There are not exceptions to be made for this. Even though she doesn't speak English our bus driver knows that he cannot bring his wife along with him on Monday even though he does for every other event he drives for us on.
This is not rooted in women-hating, misogyny, or sexism, it is just a tradition that was passed down from the very first Hash House Harriers, which were all British soldiers on bases in Malaysia, over 100 years ago. IT is simply replicating the origins of the Hash.
When the women amongst us complained about it (and it was just because they wanted to go as well) we encouraged them to build their own "women only" Hash and do it as well. These are not as popular as men only Hashes around the world, but there are quite a few of them. Ours here in Chiang Mai is one of the longest running Bunny Hashed on planet Earth and this is something that we are very proud of.
Just like any other Hash chapter of any sort all around the world, there are no central "rules." There is no governing body that approves or disapproves your Hash if you want to set one up. The Bunny Hash here in Chiang Mai didn't need a guideline because basically, you do whatever you want and then build a website and see if people are interested.
Our Bunny Hash has international events that are pretty well-attended and the regularly go on outstations which are just event organized over a couple of days that are outside of Chiang Mai in somewhere exotic.
They have been very good at organizing these and honestly, I think it is a good release for them as well as their families. Most Bunny Hashers are married to or in a relationship with a male Hasher, so during these events it is understood that their significant other is not going to attend in most instances. In some instance it is completely forbidden for them to do so.
Other times, and because every Hash chapter makes up their own charter, they will invite the men to come to an event as well and when they do this, I think they are kind of showing off because I'll be honest, their events tend to be better than the men ones.
How are they better? Well, because unlike the men they seem to focus a great deal on things that aren't just the trail and whether or not we have more than enough beer. At Bunny Hashes you can expect at least one meal, better drinks, and a wide array of non alcoholic drinks because at least in Thailand, the women folk tend to not be big drinkers.
In the rather rare instance that men are allowed at these things, they have to wear skirts and bunny ears and they are also subjected to a high level of "abuse" that is all meant in good fun.
Other times the men can't come at all. If you don't want to play by the rules that are set by the admins, don't go! It's as simple as that.
The above images are from this year's "Cherry Breaker" where the ladies made an absolutely outstanding half-marathon in the jungle complete with multiple hydration stops that had not just water and bananas (which is what the men would have) but also areas to sit down and rest, sock trade out sections, and some level of a medic. You could also bail out at each of the sections and get a ride back to camp if you wanted.
This is just excellent and I'm not trying to say "pretty good job for a girl" I am trying to say that I believe that they have actually surpassed the men in their organizational capabilities. They have less silly squabbles than the men to and they also are recruiting and replacing their ranks with younger people a lot better than the other groups are.
You may recall that I was a bit sad about how I thought the Hash was dying in Chiang Mai and when the current group stops doing it, it will just stop entirely. Well, not if the Bunny Hash has anything to say about it! While our numbers are dwindling their seem to be growing.
Their Cherry Breaker event had about double the attendance as the mens' Ball Breaker and that speaks volumes.
Well done ladies. You have done and continue to do an absolutely outstanding job!
On On!
