Women Leaders Meet for Celebration, Support

The reception was to start at noon on Friday, and by 12:05 pm, the ho­tel lounge was already filled, and guests were speaking with an in­tensity that was nearly palpable.

This would be no ordinary gathering, as became obvious when vis­it­ors reached the lounge to be greet­ed by four ambassadors and the head of the World Bank in Cam­bodia—all of whom are wo­men.

The event was in honor of wo­men leaders in the wake of Inter­national Women’s Day on March 8.

In addition to hoping to create a net­work of female officials in Cam­bodia, “We felt it was important to celebrate our accomplishments—we all have had a tough ride getting where we are in a man’s world,” said Nisha Agrawal, World Bank country manager.

Even today, comparatively few wo­men accede to high-powered positions—Agrawal said she no­ticed only one woman beside herself at the decisionmakers’ table at the Consultative Group meeting in Phnom Penh earlier this month.

Friday’s event was organized by Ag­rawal, Australian Ambassador Lisa Filipetto, Canadian Ambas­sa­dor Donica Pottie, Chinese Ambas­sador Zhang Jinfeng and Cuban Am­bassador Nirsia Castro Gueva­ra, who is vice dean of Cambodia’s dip­lomatic corps. The reception’s guest list included about 280 Cam­bodian and expatriate women—in­cluding parliamentarians and senators, secretaries of state and judges, heads of NGOs and company managers, Pottie said. Around 200 attended, in­cluding Interior Ministry female  officials in police uniforms.

While these Cambodian women were in apparently powerful posts, how much influence can they exert in the country? “We are not at the leadership stage yet,” said Princess Norodom Bopha Devi, former minister of culture.

There still is a code of behavior for women to which Cambodians ad­here, said Kek Galabru, founder and president of local rights group Licadho. The code, known as Chbam Srey, stipulates that wo­men must obey their husbands, which leads to discrimination within families, she said. Only with the support of her husband and family can a wo­man play a role outside her home, she added.

“Our goal is to put women in a position to have a choice” whether to stay at home or work outside, said Ing Kantha Phavi, minister of wo­men’s affairs. Some women must work because their husbands’ sal­aries are not enough to make ends’ meet; others simply want a career; and others would rather stay at home, she said.

Whatever they decide, she add­ed, “Women must not have to sell their bodies,” if they need to earn a living. They must be able to get decent jobs, she said.