Bangkok, October 26, 1999 -- There is a Cambodian saying that "men are like gold and women are as a piece of cloth." This means, said Mu Sok Huo, the only woman Minister in Cambodia, that "when gold falls into mud, it remains gold; but when a piece of cloth is stained, it is stained forever."
Which is why, said Mu Sok Huo, the Cambodian government has launched a program called "Women are Precious Gems," to encourage Cambodian society to value women more highly and respect their rights and protect them from violence.
Mu Sok Huo was speaking at the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting for Asia and the Pacific ongoing in this city, which seeks to review the progress made by governments in this region in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted by the world's governments in 1995. The meeting is attended by government and NGO representatives from some 50 countries across the region.
Every country delegation stated its strong commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action. Mu Sok Huo noted the progress gained by women in different areas of life. There has been a considerable increase in the number of women in politics, she said. She cited that at the Cabinet level, Cambodia now has six women when there were none before 1995. There are now 12 women in the National Assembly, where before there were only five. While there are now eight women in the Senate. In next year's commune election, 30 per cent of the candidates will be women.
Mu Sok Huo also spoke on the strategic plan of the Ministry of Women's Affairs for the empowerment of women. Called the "Neary Rattanak" or precious gems program, it has identified the passage by next year of a proposed law on the elimination of violence against women.
Still, Mu Sok Huo declined to comment when asked about her views on the killing of Pisedh Pilica, a well-known and very popular Cambodian film star and classical dancer. Pilica was said to have been involved with Prime Minister Sam Dech Hun Sen. The French magazine L'Express has reported that the killing may have been commissioned by the Prime Minister's wife, Bun Raney.
Mrs. You Ay, a Secretary of state of the Women's Affairs Ministry, reported that the delegations of the three sub-regional countries: Cambodia, Lao and Viet Nam, took part in an informal dinner discussion Monday evening. Among the matters discussed were the national machineries to enhance / empower women, mainstreaming of gender issues, and implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. The delegations went in-depth on the measures to prevent violence against women and girls. The delegations expected that the discussion would lead to better cooperation among them.
The dinner discussion was hosted by the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the UN Development Program.
* The Isis-UNIFEM media team for the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Review the Beijing Platform for Action in Asia and the Pacific is composed of Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Lorna Israel, Isis International-Manila; Suchita Vemuri, Women's Features Service; Babita Basnet, Sancharika Samuha-Nepal ; Adelle Khan, Fiji Women's Crisis Centre; Ung Vanna, Khmer Women's Voice Centre; Lim Siu Ching, All Women's Action Society-Malaysia; Fatmawati Salapuddin, Bangsa Moro Women and Development Foundation-Philippines; Rina Jimenez-David, Philippines; Chitraporn Vanaspong, Thailand. The media team is supported by UNIFEM.
