A Woman's Face in Opposition

Mu Sochua of Cambodia is a member of a new generation of women working their way into the political systems of countries across Asia and elsewhere. As an incumbent, she is already campaigning for the 2013 parliamentary elections. Ms. Mu Sochua in Kampot meeting with constituents. (All photos: Justin Mott for The New York Times)
Ms. Mu Sochua, 55, is the most prominent woman in Cambodia's struggling political opposition. She toured the countryside by foot along the river in Kampot.
A former minister of women's affairs, she did as much as anyone to put women's issues on the agenda of Cambodia as it emerged in the 1990s from decades of war and mass killings. But she lost her public platform when she broke with the government in 2004.
Her signal achievement was leading the way for women into thousands of government positions; however, she says it has done little to advance women's issues in a stubbornly male-dominated society. Ms. Mu Sochua toured a salt mine in Kampot.
As she has risen in prominence, the political stands she has taken have become a greater liability to her than gender bias has been. A Cham village in Kampot was one of Ms. Mu Sochua's stops.
As an outspoken opponent of the prime minister, she has found, her participation taints any group, action or demonstration with the stigma of political opposition. "My voice kills the movement," she said. "Now I am the face of the opposition, a woman's face in opposition." Ms. Mu Sochua handed out campaign pamphlets in Kampot.
During her six years as minister of women's affairs, she campaigned against child abuse, marital rape, violence against women, human trafficking and the exploitation of female workers. A taxi driver held a pamphlet about Ms. Mu Sochua while listening to her speak about local politics.
Over the years, Ms. Mu Sochua has worked with nongovernmental groups to field thousands of candidates in local elections. Largely because of her activism, there are now 27 women in a National Assembly of 123 seats.