Check out this Huffington Post article. It includes an interview with Sovanratana Boung, the 16-year-old Cambodian that's speaking out against the cultural barriers to gender equality in her country. As the article describes, she recently gave a passionate speech about the discrimination facing women and girls in Cambodia. I was in the crowd of mostly foreigners. Sovanratana killed it.
She speaks with the energy unique to teenagers: outraged at the situation around her, and baffled at how the adults have allowed it to go on. Plus, she cursed A LOT, separating herself from the stereotypical modesty expected of Cambodian women.
Just like the Parkland activists back home, or even like Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala, her youth is her edge.
Young adults are the ones that can expose just how clearly change is needed.
It's similar to how people don't notice the smell of their own home. You live in it, right?
For older generations, it's just the way it smells, right? It might be a really nasty smell, but our elders are determined that the stench is just the way the home smells. Well, teens are catching a whiff for the first time, and they have the sense to bust in with some air freshener.
For more inspiring female women in Cambodian, look to Catherine Harry. She was just named to Forbes Under 30 Asia 2018 list for her promotion of women's empowerment. She's well-known for her blog, "A Dose of Cath." One of my favorite quotes from her:
"The more women are informed the more they realize that they have potential and that they have rights. Thus, they would realize that they should be treated equally and not like second class citizen. I like to say that it is like the Stockholm syndrome. You are a victim but you don’t realize it or because you are so used to it, you forget that the situation is everything but normal or fair."
This was a quick post that I needed to get off my chest and out of my drafts folder. Expect more updates soon. Thanks again!