Girls and Education

The Cambodian government has committed to ensuring all children complete primary schooling by 2010 and nine year basic schooling by 2015 . The elimination of gender bias in education is on the government agenda and is detailed in the National Education Plan for All. Despite these efforts, girls still face discrimination at all levels of the education system.

Current Status:

• Almost equal numbers of boys and girls are enrolled in pre school and primary school
• In lower secondary school only 63 girls for every 100 boys are enrolled in school
• By the time a girl reaches upper secondary school, only 50 girls for every 100 boys remains enrolled in school
• Poverty and access to education are the main reasons children drop out of school
• Security and safety issues are barriers to equal education for girls

Suggestions for Positive Change:

• Increase the retention rate of girls in school by providing scholarships, particularly in rural areas
• Implement an Equal Education for All program by offering intensive study options to encourage students in grade 4-6 to remain at school
• Provide incentives for teachers who are willing to work in remote areas
• Build school dormitories for students who live in remote areas
• Identify female role models to raise awareness of the importance of girls staying in school

Women and Health

The Cambodian Millennium Development Goals (CMDG) have highlighted the government's commitment to improving the health status of all Cambodians. In particular, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases. Although women are a primary focus of CMDG health goals, poor quality health care, lack of access to health care services, reproductive health problems, the threat of HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality rates all contribute to the poor health status of women.

Current Situation:

• Women face a relatively high risk of dying from pregnancy and child-birth related illnesses
• Access to health care services and quality heath care is severely restricted
• Women's nutritional status is poor
• Lack of access to clean water and nutritional food sources impacts on health status
• The threat of HIV/AIDS contraction for women is increasing as the transmission of HIV has shifted to the general population and transmission is mainly heterosexual.
• Half of all new HIV infections involve transmission from husbands to wives and one third from mother to child and the number of women currently living with HIV continues to increase.

Suggestions for Positive Change:

• Increase government health care budgets and promote accountability for use of health care funds
• Increase number of quality antenatal health care services for women, particularly in rural areas
• Provide further training to traditional birth attendants so they are able to support women who give birth at home
• Increase community initiative focused on increasing nutritional awareness
• Expand HIV/AIDS awareness programs and equip both men and women with skills to negotiate condom use
• Assist communities in further understanding the gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS
• Strengthening HIV/AIDS prevention programs, from mother to child including the promotion of counseling services and voluntary blood testing for pregnant women

Women's Socio-Economic Status

Throughout the past decade, Cambodia has made several steps towards joining the global market, including bilateral trade and most recently, by becoming an official member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). One the one hand it can be argued that an open market may provide women with new opportunities to enter the paid labour force. On the other hand, women are joining a highly competitive labour market which offers them little in the way of long-term job security, opportunities for further skills training or social security benefits, and often in environments where national legislation fails to protect even basic women's rights. Of the twenty two International Labour Conventions, Cambodia has ratified the following seven:

• Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919
• Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948
• Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949
• Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951
• Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957
• Employment Policy Convention, 1964
• Minimum Age Convention, 1973

Current Situation:

• With a labour force growing at a rate of 3.5 percent (or roughly a quarter of a million people) per annum, the demand for paid employment opportunities is increasing. However, generally low education levels, limited employment opportunities, gender discrimination and inequalities and strong cultural views about the role of women, continue to challenge women's participation in the labour market.
• Informal sector employment remains the largest 'employer' of Cambodian women and today, women account for almost half of the workforce engaged in service, trade and small business
• Only 15.2% of the total labour force are paid employees. Of this number, only one third are women. Of total women's employment, the manufacturing sector accounts for 24.5 percent and wholesale and retail trade for 39 percent of total women's employment (MoP and NIS 1999).
• Despite the equal rights of men and women to work, gender inequalities are endemic in Cambodia's labour market. On average, women earn 30-40 percent less than men, work longer hours, receive lower wages and endure poorer working conditions
• Although increasing numbers of women are entering the paid labour market and the female share of waged employment has increased considerably, the growth in waged employment opportunities for women is mostly accounted for by the garment industry

Suggestions for Positive Change:

• Provide women opportunity to enroll in institutes, training centers in order to build competitive capacity in labor market
• Enhance the professional education to Cambodian employees, particularly women workers with suitable skills in responding to market requirements and indemnifying its product with a high quality, which be able to compete in the market
• Implement legislation that ensures "equal pay for equal work"

Women and the Law

The Cambodian government has committed to ensuring the rights of all citizens in political, social, economic and cultural spheres are upheld. The government has also adopted legislation that ensures women's rights are promoted and protected. As a signatory to CEDAW, the Cambodian government has committed to enabling "The full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls is a priority". Despite these commitments, however, women's rights are regularly violated.

Current Situation:

Violence is a daily reality for many women in Cambodia. The following provides an overview of the issues facing women as documented by LNGOs working in the field of legal and human rights.

Reported Rape Cases 2004

• 326 rape cases were reported to ADHOC
• 3.9 % rape cases on girls aged less than 5 years old
• 13.8% of offenders aged under18 who raped children
• 73% of offenders have been known by victims ( 2.86% is father, 7% is step father, 2% is uncle)
• In 43% cases the offenders were arrested
• 40% of cases filed court complaints
• 6.3% of cases were informally settled, that is, compensation was paid to victims
• 7% of offenders were tried through the court system

Domestic Violence, 2004

• 436 cases of domestic violence were reported in which 69% involved families classified as "poor"
  
• 60% of domestic violence cases were reconciled at communes and districts level

* Note: The above number of cases is just only ADHOC receiving through their offices in Cambodia. And the actual cases across Cambodia are more than that.

Women specific legislation:

• Section 63 of the article 1, the fundamental provision of Convention on the Elimination all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women can access to the equal right in all spheres to men without pressure
• In session 64, the discrimination against women has been recognized and used in law, regulation based on equality between women and men.
• Section 65, paragraph 2, article 36 of Cambodia Constitution "Both men and women have equal right for the same work and benefits.
• In the section 66, government has had a great effort to disseminate the equal right laws in accessing to the same benefits in order to gradually eliminate discriminations based on sex.

Suggestions for Positive Change:

• Strengthen and expand support for mainstreaming gender into national laws & policies
• Strengthen the court system and the legal system to halt corruption and the breaking of laws
• Monitor the court system to ensure this process
• Reinforce the effectiveness of the implementation of laws in order to eliminate the abuse of the court system
• Encourage the broadcasting of information concerning women's legal rights
• Examine all draft laws to insure the gender equality is addressed
  

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