my mother inherited her father’s strong
real determination and work ethics she
was the sole breadwinner in the family
whenever the family was in conflict we
would go find my mother and I believe me
that family daddy family had many
conflicts my mother never had a formal
education because she was a girl but I
knew that my mother wanted an education
because I watched her struggle every
night to learn to read and write gah gah
gah gah gah it get got it came the ABCs
in a Cambodian language I was the
favorite child in the family I was shy I
didn’t have a voice I didn’t have an
opinion because I was a girl when I was
18 my parents sent me abroad for an
education 18 years that I was away
Cambodia my nation my country fell into
the hands of the hardcore communist the
Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 close to 2
million lives were lost my parents my
relatives starved to death or were
killed by the hardcore communist
Cambodia fell into more civil war more
armed conflict
it did not stop until the signing of the
Paris peace accord
91 what had happened to that shy little
girl I finished my master’s degree at UC
Berkeley and then got involved in the
resettlement of refugees in the San
Francisco Bay Area refugees who were
coming
by boat to escape the Vietnam War to
escape genocide to escape armed
conflicts I had a voice then I
represented the refugee community in the
San Francisco Bay Area I was involved in
community organizing I became a leader
but I really wanted to go back home
through the mango trees do the meals
that my mother prepared for us I had to
move on I wanted to go home and finally
18 years later I went back to Cambodia
with my husband and our two little girls
I got involved in the women’s movement
and became one of its leaders we
redrafted the new constitution I got
involved in politics and became a member
of parliament and was the first woman to
lead the women’s ministry before that
that ministry was ran by a man because
they couldn’t find a woman strong enough
to run the women’s ministry okay and I
said as a minister not only do I have a
voice but I have the power and with that
power we moved the women’s movement
behind a ministry to change an old
proverb that says men are gold women are
just a white piece of cloth you know
gold when it is dropped in mud it shines
right but a white piece of cloth when it
disdained it is stained forever and we
said no that cannot be true Society has
changed and we will change this old
proverb too and we did change
that will probably men are gold women
are precious gems the gems of Cambodia
our girls our mothers our women are
elderly grandmothers whoever men and
women the nation needs men and women
that change that we made but it was
simple no it opened doors for us in the
women’s ministry to push for more
changes we redrafted they draft law on
the prevention of domestic violence to
include two main articles he the
articles that defines the word the
concept of family unit during the war
children who were orphans would go look
for their families and whoever would
adopt them they were part of that family
the elderly we’re looking for their
children too and whoever would adopt
them they became stay in that family and
they stayed under one roof if they could
find that roof so in the domestic
violence law we redefined a concept of
family and that article says a family is
a group of people anyone living under
the same roof which allows us to protect
domestic workers in that family which
allowed us to protect the often
especially the girls and even the
elderly our grandmothers because they
the second article powerful article
challenging article marital rape marry
don’t rape yes marital rape is a crime
even the women members of parliament
said no you’re going too far
the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is going
too far there’s no marital rape we say
yes it is because we have documented
hundreds and thousands of cases of
marital rape one out of five women in
Cambodia are victims of gender-based
violence that includes marital rape
human trafficking so it became its it
now part of the law on the Prevention of
domestic violence I went as far as
protecting the rights of sex workers
because they are our women because they
are human beings and as women their
rights are human rights we have to
protect them we have to raise the
national budget so that the social
sector can provide our girls our women
equal fair quality education and basic
health care we did not stop there we
weren’t immobilized women to enter
politics and thousands of women entered
politics at the local level we did my
journey to stretch this is a journey
that is long when you want to make
change it comes with the rest it comes
with a price I have been sued I have
been incarcerated spent time in jail for
defending freedom of expression I would
defend today Cambodia is at the
crossroad
today I am in exile again and I know
that my mother’s friend we walk me
through
the months the years ahead like my
mother
like women the world over I am the
pressure damn god oh god I ain’t gay
real determination and work ethics she
was the sole breadwinner in the family
whenever the family was in conflict we
would go find my mother and I believe me
that family daddy family had many
conflicts my mother never had a formal
education because she was a girl but I
knew that my mother wanted an education
because I watched her struggle every
night to learn to read and write gah gah
gah gah gah it get got it came the ABCs
in a Cambodian language I was the
favorite child in the family I was shy I
didn’t have a voice I didn’t have an
opinion because I was a girl when I was
18 my parents sent me abroad for an
education 18 years that I was away
Cambodia my nation my country fell into
the hands of the hardcore communist the
Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 close to 2
million lives were lost my parents my
relatives starved to death or were
killed by the hardcore communist
Cambodia fell into more civil war more
armed conflict
it did not stop until the signing of the
Paris peace accord
91 what had happened to that shy little
girl I finished my master’s degree at UC
Berkeley and then got involved in the
resettlement of refugees in the San
Francisco Bay Area refugees who were
coming
by boat to escape the Vietnam War to
escape genocide to escape armed
conflicts I had a voice then I
represented the refugee community in the
San Francisco Bay Area I was involved in
community organizing I became a leader
but I really wanted to go back home
through the mango trees do the meals
that my mother prepared for us I had to
move on I wanted to go home and finally
18 years later I went back to Cambodia
with my husband and our two little girls
I got involved in the women’s movement
and became one of its leaders we
redrafted the new constitution I got
involved in politics and became a member
of parliament and was the first woman to
lead the women’s ministry before that
that ministry was ran by a man because
they couldn’t find a woman strong enough
to run the women’s ministry okay and I
said as a minister not only do I have a
voice but I have the power and with that
power we moved the women’s movement
behind a ministry to change an old
proverb that says men are gold women are
just a white piece of cloth you know
gold when it is dropped in mud it shines
right but a white piece of cloth when it
disdained it is stained forever and we
said no that cannot be true Society has
changed and we will change this old
proverb too and we did change
that will probably men are gold women
are precious gems the gems of Cambodia
our girls our mothers our women are
elderly grandmothers whoever men and
women the nation needs men and women
that change that we made but it was
simple no it opened doors for us in the
women’s ministry to push for more
changes we redrafted they draft law on
the prevention of domestic violence to
include two main articles he the
articles that defines the word the
concept of family unit during the war
children who were orphans would go look
for their families and whoever would
adopt them they were part of that family
the elderly we’re looking for their
children too and whoever would adopt
them they became stay in that family and
they stayed under one roof if they could
find that roof so in the domestic
violence law we redefined a concept of
family and that article says a family is
a group of people anyone living under
the same roof which allows us to protect
domestic workers in that family which
allowed us to protect the often
especially the girls and even the
elderly our grandmothers because they
the second article powerful article
challenging article marital rape marry
don’t rape yes marital rape is a crime
even the women members of parliament
said no you’re going too far
the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is going
too far there’s no marital rape we say
yes it is because we have documented
hundreds and thousands of cases of
marital rape one out of five women in
Cambodia are victims of gender-based
violence that includes marital rape
human trafficking so it became its it
now part of the law on the Prevention of
domestic violence I went as far as
protecting the rights of sex workers
because they are our women because they
are human beings and as women their
rights are human rights we have to
protect them we have to raise the
national budget so that the social
sector can provide our girls our women
equal fair quality education and basic
health care we did not stop there we
weren’t immobilized women to enter
politics and thousands of women entered
politics at the local level we did my
journey to stretch this is a journey
that is long when you want to make
change it comes with the rest it comes
with a price I have been sued I have
been incarcerated spent time in jail for
defending freedom of expression I would
defend today Cambodia is at the
crossroad
today I am in exile again and I know
that my mother’s friend we walk me
through
the months the years ahead like my
mother
like women the world over I am the
pressure damn god oh god I ain’t gay
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