Cambodia

Mu Sochua’s arrest by Cambodian authorities on charges of insurrection was hardly the biggest international news headline in a week of war, death and destruction on front pages and throughout news feeds. Indeed, after the elected opposition Member of Parliament and five others were taken into custody after a clash in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park over the rights and wages of Cambodian garment workers, coverage was understandably scant against the horrific backdrop of Gaza and Ukraine.

“Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia”: Once a phrase commonly seen on banners in Phnom Penh, it has now taken to the streets.

Over a month after the 2013 general elections in Cambodia, planned demonstrations against the results are taking place worldwide. Following decades of civil war, with peace came ignorance, as the tiny nation lying south of Thailand was so often overlooked. After years of international disregard, Cambodia is slowly being placed back on the world’s political map, with democracy looming in the horizon.

During the country's most recent election, opposition parliamentarian Mu Sochua saw her brave countrywomen standing up to corruption and demanding change.
After intense campaigning throughout Cambodia that took more than 12 months—from the mountains of MondulKiri to the former stronghold of the Khmer Rouge in Samlot—the 2013 general election produced the result we’d all been aiming for: P'dho, Chneas. Change, We Can.

As many as 14 women politicians from Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste called for bigger and better female political representation and participation in Southeast Asia. The call was made during the regional Women’s Leadership Forum Promoting Women’s Representation in Southeast Asia held in Kuta over the weekend.

(Source: The Jakarta Post)