International Women's Day: Interview With Eng Chandy

Eng Chandy ‘14 is currently the Advocacy and Networking Program Manager at Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC), a local non-governmental organization (NGO) in Phnom Penh. In her role, Chandy works with a network to lobby stakeholders on mainstreaming gender laws and policies. She runs campaign and advocacy activities to raise awareness about gender equality and ending gender-based violence, and provides training on gender and feminism to government officials and NGO partners. Chandy received a dual B.A. degree from the Royal University of Law and Economic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and an M.A. in International Human Rights from Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. She was also a Harpswell US Fellow at Bowdoin College.

How did you become interested in working to advance gender equality?

When I was in school, there was a professor who always said, "no law, no punishments, no women, no crimes." I thought there was something wrong with his statement and wanted to challenge him, but I felt like there was something stuck in my throat which made it hard for me to challenge him. Later, I realized that because I was powerless, I did not know how to challenge him. Afterward, I read about gender issues, learned about women’s leadership at Harpswell and joined some social activities with UN Women and GADC. Then, I knew for sure that in my heart and head I always hated being discriminated against, especially discrimination based on gender. I then became interested in the matter of gender equality.

How has the concept of gender or gender equality changed in Cambodia? What successes have you seen?

People are aware of the terms gender and gender equality, but there is still a misunderstanding - they think the word gender alone means gender equality and gender only means women. However, we now have a lot of policies at the national level to promote gender equality in Cambodia. These policies are in line with international standards such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for actions, etc. Temporary special measures such as a quota system for promoting women in leadership, promoting the number and quality of young women in higher education, etc. are also being made and implemented.

What challenges and opportunities remain in addressing gender equality in Cambodia?

Well, there are still a lot of challenges remaining. Cambodia had no gender-responsive budget system in the relevant ministries, so it is hard to implement the existing policies that we have agreed upon. The old concepts and gender norms created from Chhbab Srei (women's code of conduct) are still deeply rooted in Cambodians’ mindset. But we have good policies such as NAPVAW or Neary Ratanak or Gender Equality, and just need funding, resources and people to push the commitment into real implementation.

What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing the same path as you?

Many young women are doing great and showing society their potential. I would not want them to be afraid of becoming a feminist because we all support and want equality and justice.