The Finnish Women’s Bank Women in Cambodia

These Cambodian women have received training in savings and loan operations, and are now managing the local village bank themselves.

24 March 2011
ScandAsia.com

In 2007 a group of women from Finland visited a developmental project in Liberia, meeting a large number of hardworking women with a host of ideas. Given the chance to realise these plans, they could have improved the financial situations of their families, but they lacked support and access to financial resources.

In Asia, Women’s Bank is active in Cambodia and Nepal, operating primarily by financing village banks. Village banks operate in rural communities where financing services with reasonable interest rates are frequently out of reach for poor families. Village bank members are local women who, after receiving basic training in savings and loan operations, manage the bank themselves. The interest rate for loans is low and the local area benefits. Women have proved to be trustworthy clients: almost 100 percent of the loans are paid back on time.

Pakistan: Asma Jahangir - First Woman President of Supreme Court Bar Association [-Hopefully, one day Cambodia will see the same]

Pakistan - Victory of Ms. Asma Jahangir as President of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

November 2, 2010
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission - AHRC

Ms. Asma Jahangir

http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2010statements/2910/

The Asian Human Rights Commission extends its congratulation to Ms. Asma Jahangir and her colleagues for their victory of different offices at the Supreme Court Bar Association elections.

Asma Jahangir’s victory as the president of the highest bar association of Pakistan will strengthen the lawyer's movement for an independent bar, the supremacy of the judiciary and the rule of law. Her success is a victory for the democratic forces, lovers of freedom of expression and the independence of the media.

From 1998 to 2004, Ms. Jahangir served as the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. From 2004 until July 2010, she was the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. She resigned as chairperson of the human rights commission of Pakistan in July of this year in order to run for the SCBA presidency.

The AHRC sincerely hopes that she would continue to contribute to the improvement of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan. Under her leadership the Bar can continue the work of her predecessors to ensure the independence of the Bar so that the interest of justice can be served.

We hope that Ms Jahangir will take decisive steps to create a legal aid system that will ensure access to justice for all, particularly the poor and the under privileged.

The survival of the rule of law and the independence of judiciary requires overcoming such problems as the undue delays in adjudication and the inefficiencies in the administration of justice inherited from the past. If this is to happen there needs to be the proper allocation of budget for the administration of justice by the government. When adequate funds are not available for the proper functioning of all sections of the justice mechanism people are deprived of justice. The defects of the justice mechanism gives rise to the many abuses which end in problems such as forced disappearances and other gross abuses of human rights.

Today leadership is required from the bar as well as from the judiciary to deal with these problems so as to ensure the benefits of a modernised system of justice for the people of Pakistan.

We trust that Ms. Jahangir will give expression to the aspirations and inspire the bar as well as the judiciary to pursue this objective.

AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

UN Cambodia initiates campaign to promote woman's status

March 07, 2008

The UN representative office in Cambodia, jointly with several youth organizations, here on Friday urged the young people to send a short message by mobile phone to promote the awareness of woman's importance in the society.

The message with the theme of "Strong Women, Strong Country" is also sent for the celebration of the International Women's Day.

"Young people in provinces across the country are already spreading the text message to their friends, family members, and classmates, requesting that the message be forwarded on to as many men and women as possible," said a press release from UN.

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the role that women play in development and to spread a positive message of respect towards all women in Cambodia, it added.

The text message reads as "Happy Women's Day! Women are important partners in making the country strong. We support women with love, respect and encouragement. Strong Women, Strong Country. Let's send this SMS to everyone."

A message coming from a friend has added meaning and importance, said the press release, adding that the campaign provides a simple yet powerful way for young people to actively demonstrate their support for women on International Women's Day.

According to the statistics from the International Labor Organization, women make up 75 percent of the kingdom's labor force, the highest among the Southeast Asia countries.

In addition, women account for 45 percent of Cambodia's middle school students, 33 percent of its college students and 30 percent of its government staff members.

Source: Xinhua