Quinn’s Reviews > Diving Deep, Going Far: Stories of the Women Leaders Forming Cambodia's Future > Status Update

“...where she is free from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and where she has access to a fair justice system in case anything happens to her. More than anything, I dream of a future where she isn’t told what her life will look like based on cultural stereotypes, but where she has the freedom to live the life she wants to live, without being judged for the decisions she makes.”

“...where people see her capability and potential and she doesn’t have to defend herself for her ambitions. Where she has acres to a fairly paid job of her choice and where her body and her labor are not being exploited. Where she and her fellow women take up more leadership positions in all sectors than we do today. Where she and her husband share the housework and raise their children together....”

“I dream of a future where a child is no longer pulled out of school because it is too far away, because her parents are too poor, or because she’s a girl. Where she and her classmates do volunteer work to build a better society. Where she’s able to express her problems and her ideas and she is not ignored because she’s a woman.....”

“It’s normal to worry about people’s reactions, we all do. I used to worry about it as well. But I learned that if you listen to what people think about you, you give your power away to them. You let your happiness depend on the opinions of others. We shouldn’t do this. We should depend on our own values, on what we believe is right....Don’t worry about them, just worry about doing what you believe in.”

“I’ve met women who are beaten by their husbands, every day. But they stay & not just bc they don’t have the money to pay for a divorce. They are afraid that if they don’t have a husband, people will criticize them & they won’t be able to handle it. So they continue to live in pain bc of this stigma.”

....but when a girl gets beat up at night we shouldn’t ask what she was doing out anyways or say that she shouldn’t wear a short skirt, we should focus on the bastard that did it! Women should be able to go out at night safely and dress the way they want to.”

“We’ve got all these rules for girls that are supposedly meant to protect them. You’re not supposed to have sex before you’re married, you’re not supposed to go out at night, you’re not supported to travel on your own.... The thing is, ppl do and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when they do and something bad happens, we say that it’s their own fault, bc of those ridiculous standards.”

“Men are like gold, and women are like white cloth,’ right? If the gold gets dirty, you can wash it off, but the white cloth will be stained forever. Did you ever ask yourself if that’s fair?”

I am getting so angry reading this book and coming across Cambodian sayings and quotes from the Chhbab Srey. It is shocking but it is the reality and it is important to learn and understand what Cambodian women face.