The Cambodian parliamentary elections are still three years away, but Ms. Mu Sochua, prominent female politician of the opposition party, is already working hard to win her re-election votes “‘one by one.’” Denied access to the government-controlled newspapers and television – and facing fierce resistance from a male-dominated political elite – Ms. Sochua knows that “she has no time to lose.”
Most of her challenges stem directly from the glass-ceiling restricting Cambodian women across all areas of public life. As a current member of parliament and the former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Ms. Sochua is part of a new generation of women in Asia who are slowly making their way into the circle of politics and influence. During her six years in the ministry, she pushed to make women’s issues a central focus during the country’s resurgence from a long, bloody conflict. Throughout those six years, she spoke out against child abuse, marital rape, human trafficking and exploitation of female workers. She even played a major role in drafting Cambodia’s law against domestic violence. Ms. Sochua has worked tirelessly to open thousands of government jobs to women. Partly as a result of her efforts, 27 out of the 123 seats in the National Assembly are held by women.
Despite her efforts in raising awareness of women’s issues and leading the way for a new era of female leadership in the country, she regretfully admits that this has had little impact in such a male-dominated society. When it comes to women’s political empowerment, she explains, the growing number and prominence of women has not translated into progress for the women’s agenda. She explains that even among the 27 women in office, most of them are merely placed as “window-dressing.” Ms. Mu Sochua is highly critical of this: “‘I don’t want to antagonize women,” she explained “but if we suffer in silence we are responsible.’”
Both fearless and outspoken, Ms. Sochua faces far more burdens than the glass-ceiling effect. Her ordeal began last April when Cambodia’s Prime Minister Mr. Hun Sen used a highly insulting, sexist phrase to describe her in front of her own constituency. She immediately sued him for defamation only to find her actions turned against her. The Prime Minister immediately stripped her of her parliamentary immunity, and successfully sued her back with the help of a friendly court room. Sochua now has a fine of $4,000 dollars which she refuses to pay despite the threat of being thrown into jail. For her, though, giving in would be much worse: “‘I’m not going to pay the fine. Paying the fine is saying to Cambodian women, ‘What are you worth? A man can call you anything he wants and there is nothing you can do.’” She continues to refuse, seeing this act of resistance as one of the only ways she has left to fight for the rights of women in her country.
As Ms. Mu Sochua goes from village to village introducing herself, she is always highly aware of the traditional gender roles and disparities of Cambodia. Yet she is also encouraged when men and women tell her in a whisper that they did in fact vote for her. As a woman, and the new face of the opposition, Cambodians often do not associate themselves with her out of fear of being tainted as an opposition movement . This mere associationcould quickly kill their movements and initiatives. What is important, though, is that many secretly admire her and believe in what she is doing. As she travels to the different villages, this number of supporters, although not outspoken, will continue to grow. This may be a small step, but perhaps it is a necessary one in order to slowly, but surely, bring credibility and legitimacy to female leadership in Cambodia.
For the New York Times’ full article about Ms. Mu Sochua, written by Seth Mydans, please click on the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/world/asia/22cambowomen.html. This story is part of a yearlong series of articles, columns and multimedia reports where The International Harold Tribune examines where women stand in the early 21st century.
