Boeng Kak Activists Protest State Violence Against Women
Less than a week after she was released from prison pending a retrial on controversial criminal charges laid down last year, housing rights activist Yorm Bopha on Thursday led a march of about 500 people to deliver a petition calling on the government to end its violent assaults on women. … They berated both the ministry and the U.N. in Cambodia for launching the Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence educational campaign. “U.N. Women has based an office in Cambodia, but they have never paid attention to all the violence committed by the armed forces during forced land evictions and in garment factory work,” Ms. Vanny said, calling for U.N. Women to take a more proactive role against violence committed by the government in Cambodia. A press release from the activists cited police assaults on women during land grabs, the shooting of three female garment factory workers by former Bavet City governor Chhouk Bundith last year and the violent nighttime assault on female activists and journalists at a vigil against land-grabbing at Wat Phnom on September 22 as examples of the government’s disregard for the safety of women. …
Khuon Narim and Alex Willemyns
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/boeng-kak-activists-protest-state-violence-against-women-48194/
