The head of the Interior Ministry’s bodyguard unit has called for more women to be recruited into the force to protect senior female officials and visiting dignitaries.
The comments were initially made by Touch Naruth at an event held on Friday in advance of International Women’s Day this week.
Lieutenant General Naruth said Sunday he would like to see the number of women in the elite bodyguard unit raised to 30 percent, though he declined to give the number of females currently in the force.
“We do not want to use predominantly male bodyguards to protect everyone, and so we should have more female bodyguards,” he said, adding that a recruitment plan was being reviewed by the government.
“We want to recruit and train more women to be bodyguards to protect important figures, as well as guests and delegates visiting or working in Cambodia,” he added.
In 2014, taekwondo star Sorn Seavmey, who won Cambodia’s first-ever gold medal at the Asian Games that year, joined the bodyguard unit along with her sister and teammate, Sorn Davin.
