Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

elections saw an increase to 14 female members
in a chamber of 122. This represented an increase
from 6% in the first session to 11% in the 1998
session. In the Senate, created in March 2000 with
the role as a reflection chamber, only eight out 61
appointed members are women (13%). To combat
this, the Ministry and NGOs actively encourage
women to take more political responsibility and
run for elected office, and also organize workshops
and publications informing women about their
rights.
Currently, the proportional party
representation system used in elections inhibits
the election of independent candidates. As political
parties control the lists of their candidates and
since male party members usually have seniority
over female members, it is generally unlikely for
women to be given prime or prominent positions
on party lists. To try to change this situation, in
2000 NGOs advocated strongly for legislation
mandating a minimum percentage of women
candidates on electoral ballots for commune
councils. Unfortunately, their efforts were
unsuccessful. (See case study on Commune
Council Election Law).
As a fallback to the above position, NGOs
worked to encourage parties to voluntarily include
women candidates on their commune council
electoral lists. Although the three main political
parties accepted in principle to nominate 30%
women to their party roster lists, only one party
achieved this objective. On a more encouraging
note, in 2001, the Royal Government and the
Ministry of Interior appeared to take extra efforts
to employ women in the newly created Commune
Clerks positions.
Within the current administration, only two
out of 24 full-fledged ministers are women, a low
number, but still an improvement over the 1993
administration. At the provincial administrative
level, there were no women appointed as head of
the 24 provinces or municipalities. Within the
judiciary, there are no female members of the
Supreme Court. A woman is the head of the Court
of Appeals and is also the only female member of
the Council of Magistracy. Of the 220 or so trained
and practicing lawyers in Cambodia, only 20 are
women. Of 110 judges, eight are women, while
none of the 40 prosecutors are women. Female
civil servants seem to be concentrated in nondecision
making positions in their ministries, and
some evidence suggests that instead of being
allowed to
Despite Constitutional provisions and the
efforts of the MoWA and many NGOs,
the number of women holding leadership
positions remains small.
use their
technical
s k i l l s ,
qualified
women are
assigned administrative work. This same situation
prevails in both the military and police forces,
where women are in the vast minority and usually
hold only token or minor positions.
Since the 1993 elections, the Royal
Government has begun to recognize the important
role played by NGOs and civil society
organizations in the country’s development and
the non-governmental sector has been allowed to
emerge as an advocate for social justice and a
partner in the fight against poverty. As a general
rule, women are better represented in NGOs than
in most other organizations or agencies. Women
assume leadership roles in several NGOs and have
been effective in affecting changes, particularly in
the area of women’s rights.
Strategies
• Workshops for Commune Clerk
candidates, to assist them in passing the entrance
exam.
• Trainings, workshops, and media
publications focused on legal rights and human
rights.
• Lobbying for law requiring a quota system
for female candidates (unsuccessful as yet).
Obstacles
• Men control political parties and decide
who election candidates are.
• Women lack disposable income needed to
run for elections, especially national elections.
• Women are generally not expected to
participate in politics or in community leadership
roles. There is generally lack of active support by
husbands, family, or communities for women to
engage in public office.
• Women’s lack of self-confidence and
awareness of their limited education prevents
them from considering themselves qualified for
public office. There is a lack of role models and
traditions relating to public service for women.
Impact of Advocacy on Women’s Issues
Policy
In addition to draft domestic violence
legislation and efforts to legalize prostitution,
there is an ongoing effort to get the government
to amend the Family Law that was ratified during
the State of Cambodia administration around
1989. The Family Law regulates marriage and
divorce, as well as issues related to children such
as custody and adoption. Advocates believe the law
to be greatly outdated and to lack gender
sensitivity. For example, the law currently
stipulates that women are required to wait 300
Case Studies
79