I Can Do It

I was born in average income family. When I was adult, I lived at rural area where is not quite far from provincial town with only my grandma and mother as my father and my older brother pursued their study at Phnom Penh. I felt kind of lonely, poor and pitiful in condition of both study and assist my mother to do housework as well as earn money to support my father and brother’s school fee and living as dwellers. The one that are more pitiful than me is my grandmother and especially my mother who never ever think about herself than family in her whole life. We are ladies but we worked so hard for men. So, my study at that time was not good because I have no encouragement and understanding the advantage of studying, though, I can write letter vice versa to my dad every month.
Seven years passed away, my dad come back and bring family to better life. He pushed me to study hard by giving $10 as a award for committing to achieve top grade in every month. Finally, my dad cannot afford to give me the gift as I was always at 1st or 2nd student who had high score in class. From that time on, I always get score ranking from 1st to 5th among 50 students even no more gift from daddy.
When I’m in grade 9th , my mother force me to get married with a friend of my father because she thought that even I’m young with no income but he might have ability to support me as he’s doctor. But I totally rejected and explain to my mom that we could not depend on men, we absolutely hurt if they abandon us. I told her that let me prove you to survive by ourselves and women’s passion can do everything if women intend to have. Man will not look down wife when she can lives and takes care children without him. Being as an outstanding in physic in 9th grade among students represent for my province and in physic in 12th grade among students represent for school in Phnom Penh city, I can change my month’s ideas and she fully supported me in continue my study at grade 12 and to university in Phnom Penh city.
My favorite subjects in high school were technical such as physic and math because there were not much female students like and has ability to be good at it but I changed to take subject in International Relations because I know that most students are not interested in politics. In Cambodia contest, people teach children not to involve in politic, it became the culture for next generation to ignore politics which is one of the main important part to lead the country to the development.
Currently, I am monitoring assistant at Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (COMFREL). I work as observer on National Assembly and Parliamentarians. To do quarterly and annual news report on National Assembly (NA) and Parliamentarians, it makes me concern so much that female parliamentarians from different parties still not gather to have female group in Cambodian Parliament. It’s the weak points that they should form a group to protect politician women from violation and discrimination and to be a female leader group as a model for others ordinary women in country. Other concern is on women in Government and the NA that were afraid to express their opinions and therefore fulfill their role as public representatives; sometimes to the point of taking no active part in the political process. Concern was raised after discriminatory remarks were made against parliamentarian Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party and her opinions were publicly mocked by the leader of Government the members of the National Assembly and local authority. I think that those are discriminatory actions and discouragement against female politician and will have a negative impact and set a poor precedent more and more to local authorities that may in future use such tactics to discriminate against the oppositions’ female district and commune councilors. This may lead to women being scared to express their opinions or even participate in politics.
Therefore, I will act more and change myself more through enlarging my ideas, updating my writing skill, building women network and expressing my voice freely through Voice of Our Future which devoted to bring women and me in global voice. Voice of Our Future can also lead me to have profession and attractive writing and familiar to new technology like web 2.0. In order to achieve my dream to be a potential female politician in future, I also need to improve profession public, speaking, concision, communication skill, and other press knowledge. So, I cannot wait to apply for Voice of Our Future which will teach me with those above mention. On the other hand I do want to work with those most vulnerable groups such as children, women headed household, old people, and disable because I cannot live in a good life if there are still a lot of poor and injustice in the society. Although, I cannot help them so much, but my voice through Would Pulse will bring Cambodian women’s issues to the world and back with solutions. I strongly believe that in the future, I would execute knowledge from Voice of Our Future program to deal with women and girls in capacity building and help to reduce actions to discriminate against women.