In the Shadows: Women, Power and Politics in Cambodia (original) (raw)
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Beyond apsara: Women, tradition and trajectories in Cambodian politics
In Kazuki Iwanaga (ed.), Women’s political participation and representation in Asia: Obstacles and challenges. Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2008
More women than men survived the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Yet despite post-revolutionary policies of gender equality and official homage being played to the role that women played in reconstruction efforts, women have not held many high-level political or public sector positions since 1979. This is not to say that women have not played significant and valuable roles in the physical and social reconstruction post-revolutionary Cambodia, however. Women’s associations initiated and run by Cambodian women have been prominent in easing the burden of responsibility that women faced in post-revolutionary Cambodia. Why, then, have Cambodian women been precluded from accessing the highest echelons of political power? The answer lies in the reluctance of post-revolutionary governments to disentangle the idea of 'traditional' values from those of the colonial era, more than fifty years after decolonisation. This has contributed to the difficulty in fostering approval for a women's movement within mainstream Cambodian society. Gender inequality in education and, therefore, in employment opportunities and earning potential, have caused a perceived lessening of women's economic and political importance. Despite these obstacles to gender equity, Cambodian women have been active, autonomous, and articulate in challenging issues that oppress women in Cambodia since 1979 and are effectively redressing gender imbalances within Cambodian society.
Misogyny, Malice, and Male Privilege in Cambodia: The Cbpab Srei [c.1800]
The Cbpab Srei [Code of Conduct for Women], first written at the turn of the nineteenth century, is one of the most cited pieces of Cambodian traditional literature. Various versions and commentaries in Khmer exist; only two French translations have been made, and none in English, until now. Popularly believed to have been authored by King Ang Duong (r. 1848-1863), who is credited with the resuscitation of Cambodian sovereignty following centuries of Thai and Vietnamese aggression, the appearance of the text coincided with a strongly misogynist element that emerged in Cambodian elite society. Was this due to the bias of Ang Duong himself, unable to claim the throne for over a decade due to the incumbency of his niece, Ang Mei? Or was it due to the influence of a more austere form of Buddhism in the Thai court at this time? Moreover, did Ang Duong actually author the Cbpab Srei – and if not, why is it to him that authorship is most commonly attributed? This paper will explore these questions and posit other possible explanations for the more conservative attitude adopted towards Cambodian women during the latter half of the nineteenth century, as well as the implications that the emergence of this misogyny has had for gender equity in Cambodia.
Monash Asia Institute Working Papers on Southeast Asia, No. 133, 2010
In 1875 three women of the palace and a male palace servant were executed on the order of King Norodom of Cambodia. One of the women, a lesser queen who had borne two of the king’s children, was beheaded with a sword for having entered into a sexual liaison with the man; the other two women were shot for acting as go-betweens for the couple. The French saw these executions as evidence of the despotism and backwardness of the Cambodian monarchy. Emancipating the women of the Cambodian royal ‘harem’ became a key objective of the French colonial project and assisted in legitimising their presence in the kingdom. Yet for Norodom, his actions were fitting retribution for an act he perceived as treason. The French did not realize that sexual fidelity on the part of the women of the palace symbolised the political loyalty of their families. This paper explores the institution of ‘women of the palace’ from both angles and how the French perception of the ‘harem’ as a place of immorality is the one that has endured in the minds of Cambodians. In reality, however, the women of the palace were inhabitants of a realm at once mundane and celestial; far from mere sexual playthings, their roles enabled the king to move between the worlds he represented and maintain diplomatic relations with the lands he ruled.
International Journal for Feminist Politics, 2022
This article embodies the spirit of the Enloe Award in providing a feminist understanding of the everyday experiences and strategies of poor women's social movements against the authoritarian regime in Cambodia. It traces the co-constitution of gendered formations of the state and women's collective action through an account of four distinct types of "gendered repertoires of contention" used by the women to protest Cambodia's land grab. The critical-reflexive understanding of social movements offered here illuminates strategies of feminist resistance to authoritarian state power in Cambodia and beyond. The article stood out for its clarity and evidence-based narrative, and we are delighted that it has won the award.
Women, Sexuality and Politics in Modern Cambodian Literature: The Case of Soth Polin’s Short Story
MANUSYA, 2007
This essay aims to explore the political messages found in the work of Soth Polin, one of Cambodia’s influential writers in the 1970s. Soth’s short story, Sramol Ptī Oey..Khluon Ūn Rahaek [My Dear Husband…My Body Was Torn Apart] illustrates how Cambodia was in a state of physical and moral decay during the Vietnam War as a result of attacks from Vietnamese Communists and American influence over the Cambodian leaders during the Vietnam War. In Soth’s stories, pornographic, philosophical and political elements are artistically interwoven. The author uses women’s bodies and sexuality as both a site of patriarchal control and as a site of negotiation between the female subject and the patriarchal power. The feminised body of Cambodia symbolizes the political oppression of foreign powers and resistance to these powers. Soth’s text shows the continuity of traditional concepts and new creativity in modern Cambodian literature.
Women are Silver, Women are Diamonds: Conflicting Images of Women in the Cambodian Print Media
Reproductive Health Matters, 2004
This paper examines 116 articles related to sexual and reproductive health translated into English from the Khmer press from April 1997 to February 2004. These excerpts were found in The Mirror, a publication of the non-governmental organisation Open Forum of Cambodia, which collates and reviews all issues of the Khmer press on a weekly basis. Five major themes were identified: the politics of women's health, government regulation and control, the sex industry in Cambodia, rape, and the HIV epidemic. Discourse analysis of these articles in the context of other sources and experience allows a gendered exploration of the reporting of sexual and reproductive health and rights issues in Cambodia by the Khmer print media. The reports explore the contested political empowerment of women in this strongly hierarchical society, and the mechanisms used to regulate and control sexual activity. The expanding sex industry and associated sexual trafficking are reported, together with the corruption of legal structures designed to regulate health systems and protect women and children from sexual exploitation and rape. The growing problem of AIDS and successes in reducing HIV transmission through the collaboration of sex workers in the 100% condom use policy is documented, and the tensions implicit in a cultural representation of women that both protects and constrains women are explored.
Depicting atrocity: The experiences of women under the Khmer Rouge
Women's Studies International Forum, 2021
Analyses of women's experiences under the Khmer Rouge have been relatively limited. It is clear, however, that women experienced the regime in qualitatively different ways to men. This paper examines some of these experiences as depicted on the genocide memorial at Wat Samrong Knong in Battambang. The analysis reveals that women's experiences were the result of the interaction of Khmer Rouge ideology with existing Cambodian gender norms and expectations. This explains the depiction of women in multifaceted ways, as both victims and perpetrators of violence. It is this dual role which remains missing from analyses and which points to the need for more nuanced examinations of the regime.