Cambodia’s Constitution of 1993 guarantees equal rights to men and women in all areas of society. Additional national laws and government initiatives also promote the well-being and empowerment of women, although in some cases their implementation remains poor. Cambodia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Traditionally, women in Cambodia have enjoyed a strong social position and have held an influential position within their families, including participation in all household decisions. More recently, their position – in society and in the home – has been weakened by armed conflict, poverty and increasingly discriminatory customs. The massacres during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) left many women widowed: an estimated 25 per cent of Cambodian households are headed by sole women and, as a result, are particularly vulnerable to poverty. Female employment is relatively high, but concentrated in the agricultural and/or informal sectors. Women generally have less access than men to resources, such as education and health care.
Cambodian law grants women equal rights within the family context. The Law on Marriage and Family stipulates that all marriages shall be based on mutual consent, and sets the legal marriage age to 20 years for men and 18 years for women. In line with Chbab Srey, a traditional code of conduct, arranged marriages are still common, although Mony in 2004 reports that it is now common practice to consult the groom and bride about the choice of spouse and either partner can reject their parents’ arrangement. In regard to early marriage, a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 12 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Monogamous marriages are the norm in Cambodia and are, in fact, the only legally recognised form of union. However, polygamy is prevalent in that some men have a principal wife (who is the mother of his children) and a second wife or mistress (who is not legally recognised). According to the Mony report, the disproportionate killing of men during the Khmer Rouge regime still forces many widows and single women to accept relationships with partners who are already married. In the years immediately following the war and up to the 1980s, women comprised 60 per cent to 65 per cent of the population.
Cambodian law grants men and women equal rights in terms of parental authority. Both have a say in the raising of their children, although the mother typically plays a greater role in day-to-day practical matters. In the event of divorce, the Law on Marriage and Family stipulates that the child’s best interest should be the basis for determining custody. Women have the same right as men to pass on their nationality to their children.
The Constitution of Cambodia guarantees equal inheritance rights to men and women. Cambodian women, however, often have little or no knowledge of their rights in this regard.
Cambodia is taking steps to enhance the physical integrity of women. In 2005, for example, policy makers introduced a law against domestic violence. However, the country still faces many challenges and violence against women remains widespread. The US Department of State reports that Cambodian women are frequently victims of sex tourism and prostitution, as well as trafficking and kidnapping for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The subject of domestic violence is not discussed publicly and incidents of spousal abuse are rarely reported, even though a 2005 Demographic and Health Survey reveals that 22 per cent of ever-married women (aged 15-49) have experienced physical violence, most often by a current or previous husband. There is no evidence that the country has ever practised female genital mutilation nor that it is a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Cambodian women have the right to financial autonomy, and enjoy the same legal and economic rights and opportunities as men. They can and do have access to land (although their landholdings are generally much smaller than men’s) and are entitled to access to property other than land.
At present, these rights are governed by provisions in the Law on Marriage and Family, which makes a distinction between joint property (i.e. that acquired or bought during the marriage) and separate property (i.e. that owned by either spouse before the marriage). Separate property can be managed and disposed of independently by its owner, be it a man or a woman; decisions over joint property require agreement of both spouses. Many women choose to leave their husbands in charge of most matters related to property ownership. A USAID study reports that limited awareness of their rights – coupled with poor access to legal aid and advice – makes women more vulnerable in contractual affairs, including when others make claims on their land.
There is no discrimination in terms of women’s access to bank loans; however, limited access to information often makes it difficult for women to benefit from existing micro-credit programmes.
Women in Cambodia have civil liberty. Legally, they are not restricted in their freedom of movement and enjoy the same right as men to independently apply for passports. However women are less likely than men to leave the local village on a regular basis because of domestic responsibilities and/or home-based employment. Cambodian women do not face restrictions in regard to their freedom of dress.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2004), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Cambodia, Combined Initial, Second and Third Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/KHM/1-3, CEDAW, New York, NY.
Mony, K. (2004), “Marriage”, Cambodian Culture and Health, Ethnomed, www.ethnomed.org.
National Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Statistics [Cambodia] and ORC Macro (2006), Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2005, National Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Statistics and ORC Macro, Cambodia and Calverton, MD.
UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), Gender Profile of the Conflict in Cambodia, Women War Peace Portal, www.womenwarpeace.org.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
USAID (US Agency for International Development) (2006), Gender Analysis & Assessment, USAID/Cambodia, Vol. 1: Gender Analysis, USAID, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cambodia, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
