Dear Lok Timothy, You made a good explanation about "cheung" . Thank you.
Vichea On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 1:56 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.box.net/shared/q7e15uexp0 > > Expression "Cheung Klaing" does not mean "strong leg". > > Please click on attached PDF or the above link. > > ------------------------------ > From: [email protected] > Reply-to: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Sent: 6/2/2009 6:49:02 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time > Subj: Mu Sochua: One of Cambodia's precious gems > > > > > *Sara Veal, Contributor* , Jakarta | Tue, 06/02/2009 9:31 AM | > People [image: Photo by Lucia De Giovanni]Photo by Lucia De Giovanni > When Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly insulted an unspecified > female politician recently, he got more than he bargained for: His implied > target turned around and sued him. > > The prime minister’s insult might be considered typical in a country with > continuing gender inequality, but that didn’t mean Mu Sochua was going to > take it lying down. > For 20 years, Mu Sochua has been a voice for exploited Cambodians. As the > Vietnam War spread to Cambodia in 1972, the then 18-year-old was exiled, > with no chance to say goodbye to her parents, who later vanished under the > Khmer Rouge regime. She spent 18 years overseas, studying and working in > Paris, the US and Italy and in refugee camps along the Thai–Cambodian > border. > Since her return in 1989, she has been hands-on in rebuilding her homeland, > first as an activist and now as a politician, focusing on women’s and > children’s issues. > “I had the choice of being part of the reconstruction of Cambodia and I > took that choice,” said Sochua, a member of parliament for the Sam Rainsy > Party (SRP), the leading opposition to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party > (CPP). > In 1991, Sochua formed the first Khmer women’s organization, Khemara, and > joined the FUNCINPEC political party, winning a national assembly seat > representing Battambang in 1998. She soon became the first female minister > for women’s and veterans’ affairs. > “What prepared me for the job was my early return, before the country was > even officially open to the Western world, which put an embargo on it during > 1975 to 1990.” > Her first ministerial act was to launch a national campaign for gender > equality, Neary Rattanak (Women Are Precious Gems), which transformed an old > Khmer proverb, “A man is gold; a woman is a white piece of cloth” into “Men > are gold; women are precious gems.” > The rewritten proverb argues that women are as valuable as men; if > “dirtied”, they can shine again like gems, rather than be stained forever > like a muddied cloth. > However, in July 2004, she resigned, claiming corruption hindered her work. > She joined the SRP, becoming the party’s first female secretary-general in > 2006. > Her struggle has been recognized by several nominations and awards, > including a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nomination and the 2005 Vital Voices > Human Rights Global Leadership Award, presented by then US senator Hillary > Clinton. > Sochua, who is fluent in English, French and Khmer, and holds degrees in > psychology and social work from US universities, says her international > background enhances her work, but only to a point. > “The Western education allows me to know what the international standards > are for human rights, for gender equality and for quality of life, and it > allows me to set these standards for the women of Cambodia, but in a > modified way in order to keep in balance values and culture. > “I am very clear about what can work in Cambodia and what is totally from > the West.” > She believes the key to positive change lies in giving people the right to > participate in national development without discrimination. > “[Development] must be based on the preservation of the country’s > resources, which are plentiful but so badly managed because of corruption > and lack of rule of law.” > Sochua’s three daughters have all followed in her humanitarian footsteps. > Although she says Asian people look at her with “sorry eyes” when they hear > she has no sons, she is fiercely proud of her girls, saying they inspire her > to fight even harder for equal access to education and healthcare and for > gender equality. > “[Each time] I go to the police station and work with survivors of > gender-based violence, I imagine myself a victim and that my daughters are > caught in this cycle of violence.” > *Her struggle led to her decision to sue Hun Sen for defamation, after he > allegedly called her “cheung klang” (strong leg), an offensive term for > women, during a speech in her Kampot constituency*. He immediately > responded with a countersuit, a threat to remove her parliamentary immunity > and a request that the Cambodian Bar Association investigate her lawyer, > Kong Sam Onn. > Without immunity, Sochua faces imprisonment and her lawyer faces > disbarment. However, she is determined to proceed with the case. > “If no action was taken against [his] words, the people will never want to > seek assistance from me again,” she says, adding his comments violated her > rights and generally devalued women. > While she believes she has little chance of a fair trial, with the courts > said to be under the influence of the executive, she hopes her case will > publicize the weaknesses of the judiciary and demonstrate that no one is > above the law. > Whatever the outcome, Sochua continues to look to the future. She hopes > Cambodia can eventually be economically independent and a key player in > ASEAN, citing Indonesia as a model to follow. > “For that we need to be accountable to our people first and be credible in > the eyes of the ASEAN community,” she says. “That is the long-term > investment I am working on and why I intend to remain in politics: To give > what it takes to bring new leadership for Cambodia and to give our youth of > today a chance to have what youth in neighboring nations are enjoying.” > This determination shows she cannot be stained by any dirty words, no > matter who throws them. > > > ------------------------------ > We found the real 'Hotel > California<http://www.whereitsat.com/#/music/lyrical-landmarks/258/41.19651/-110.832818/2/The-Eagles-Hotel-California?ncid=emlcntnew00000006>' > and the > 'Seinfeld<http://www.whereitsat.com/#/television/totally-tv/165/47.871213/-66.348481/2/Seinfeld-Diner?ncid=emlcntnew00000005>' > diner. What will you find? Explore > *WhereItsAt.com*<http://www.whereitsat.com/#/music/all-spots/355/47.796964/-66.374711/2/Youve-Found-Where-Its-At?ncid=emlcntnew00000007> > . > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
