The status of women in Cambodia has not reached the political level needed to ensure the full protection of women and their full participation in Cambodian society. Advocacy at all levels to change the image of women is a long-term agenda. Advocacy will rely heavily not only on the leadership of women but on public campaign, public education and changing social and cultural values.
Advocacy funds such as the grant requested to support Women Weaving the World Together will significantly increase the impact of the women's movement in this country and our visibility at the international level. With continued support we can enable Cambodian women to bring their voice to the world community and especially enable us to expand our network with women in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in other regions.
The tasks ahead of us are tremendous if we are to ensure the rights of Cambodian women, if we are to rebuild our national human resource base, lost during the past two decades of war, and if we are to change the image of our women.
We will continue to seek funds for our advocacy work, for our media activities, for our develop programs for women. Cambodian population is an overwhelming 65% women, but the main power and resources do not belong to us. We need the funds to ensure that our women get training, education and proper services. We do not want to be considered beneficiaries of projects nor do we want to continue to be a silent majority.
The Cambodian women's movement was born from the struggle of our village leaders, our teachers, health workers, students, all of whom are women who see the need for change and are determined and committed to bring up a new generation of Cambodian children, who will witness no more war, no more killings and no more destruction. We need outside support to build a Cambodian society based on equal rights, equal participation and equal recognition.