Mu Sochua
Encyclopedia
Mu Sochua (born May 15, 1954) is an elected Sam Rainsy Party
Sam Rainsy Party
The Sam Rainsy Party is a personalist and more or less liberal party in Cambodia. The party is a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats...
(SRP) opposition member of the Cambodian parliament and a mother of three children. In 2005, she received the Leadership Award in Washington, DC, from the Vital Voices
Vital Voices
Vital Voices Global Partnership is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C..-History:The nonprofit Vital...
Foundation, co-founded by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
. In 2002 she mobilized 12,000 women candidates to run for commune elections, with over 900 women winning and still actively promoting the women's agenda at the grass-roots level. In that same year she helped create and pass the Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill, which imposes severe penalties on marital rape and abuse of minors. Her work in Cambodia also includes campaigns with men to end domestic violence and the spread of HIV/AIDS; working for the rights of female entrepreneurs; working for labor laws that provide fair wages and safe working conditions for female workers; and working for the development of communities for squatters with schools, health centers, sanitation, and employment.
Early life
Born in 1954, Sochua grew up in Phnom PenhPhnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
but was forced to flee as a refugee as the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
spilled over into Cambodia. Her parents were trapped in the country as it fell under the command of the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
in 1975 and later vanished. War and genocide forced Sochua away from Cambodia in 1972 when she had just completed high school. Sochua would remain in exile for the next 18 years.
Exile
During her 18 years in exile, Mu Sochua would spend time in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, as well as working in the refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. She earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
and a masters degree in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
before returning to Cambodia to help rebuild a society shattered by war.
Return from exile
Sochua returned to Cambodia in 1989 after 18 years in exile, and has worked as an advocate for human rights, working to stop human traffickingHuman trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, domestic violence and worker exploitation. Sochua formed the first organization for women, called Khemara
Khemara (NGO)
Khemara is a Cambodian Non-Governmental Development Organisation which concentrates on the advancement of women and children.As well as running programs in business, literacy, child care and emergency shelter they are promoting handicrafts made from silk, silver and wicker, and carrying out...
. and joined the Funcinpec
Funcinpec
FUNCINPEC is a royalist political party in Cambodia. Before the 2008 election, FUNCINPEC and the Cambodian People's Party formed a coalition government, although FUNCINPEC's significance has decreased steadily since 1998, when it had an equal relationship with the CPP in the coalition.FUNCINPEC is...
political party, winning a national assembly seat representing Battambang in 1998. Soon afterwards, she was asked to take over the Ministry of Women's and Veterans' Affairs, one of only two women in the cabinet.
In July 2004 she stepped down from her role as a Minister, citing corruption as a major obstacle to her work. Almost immediately, she transferred her allegiance to the Sam Rainsy party, where she is deputy head of the steering committee.
April 2009 defamation action
At a press conference held on 23 April 2009, Mu Sochua announced she would file a defamation complaint against Cambodian prime Minister Hun SenHun Sen
Hun Sen is the current Prime Minister of Cambodia.He has been the sole leader of the Cambodian People's Party , which has governed Cambodia since the Vietnamese-backed overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979...
with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. “I have nothing against Samdech the Prime Minister. As a Member of Parliament, I respect him. But the words of Samdech the Prime Minister said in public affect my honour and my dignity as a Khmer woman. With this complaint, I only want justice and honour, as a Khmer woman”, Sochua said. She added that she only claimed a 500-riel (0.12 dollar) compensation as a token, and a public apology on the part of the head of government.
Following Sochua's announcement, the government was expected to file a counter-suit for gravely defaming the PM. The Ministry of Justice was expected to request the President of the parliament to vote to remove Sochua's parliamentary immunity. With only 25 percent of the votes, the SRP would be powerless to prevent further action against her – including imprisonment. Sochua's letter calling for support from the international community – "As I walk to prison" — was circulated around the World Wide Web.
On two previous occasions, when SRP party leader Sam Rainsy's parliamentary immunity was removed, he fled Cambodia under threat of criminal charges and went into exile in France.
Awards and recognition
In 2005, Sochua was one of 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
for her work against sex trafficking of women in Cambodia and Thailand. Also in 2005, Sochua was honoured with the Vital Voices Human Rights Global Leadership Award for her efforts to stem the tide of human trafficking.
In 2006, Sochua was awarded the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
for distinguished record of service in Cambodia and an Honorary PhD in Law from the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In 2009, Sochua was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Eleanor Roosevelt Project at The George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
for leadership in human rights.
In 2010, Sochua was named the 2010 People's Choice Honoree by Global Exchange. The Human Rights Awards Gala brings together activists, supporters, and friends to recognize the efforts of exceptional individuals and organizations from around the country and around the world.
External links
- Mu Sochua Official site
- Mu Sochua's Blog Official blog
- Bringing corruption to heel , Published in the South Eastern Globe, November 2008.
- Vibrant Cambodian Women's Leader Aims to Turn the Tide on Corruption , Published in the The New York City Independent Media Center, April 2009.
- Females making their presence felt , Published in the South Eastern Globe, December 2008.
- Cambodia's New War , Published in The Daily Beast, April 2009.
- A Face of Cambodian Courage , Published in The Indypendent, April 2009