A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 23 July 2014

Cambodian Civil Rights Leader Freed - Did Network Effect Help Her Cause?

By Griff Tapper 
Forbes Magazine 

Mu Sochua’s arrest by Cambodian authorities on charges of insurrection was hardly the biggest international news headline in a week of war, death and destruction on front pages and throughout news feeds. Indeed, after the elected opposition Member of Parliament and five others were taken into custody after a clash in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park over the rights and wages of Cambodian garment workers, coverage was understandably scant against the horrific backdrop of Gaza and Ukraine.
But in addition to her political backers in Cambodia and their ongoing struggle with the hardline government there, Mu Sochua had an ace in the hole outside the country: a relatively small but very vibrant network of supporters in the community of those who support the development of female political leadership globally. And that network swung into action after her arrest on July 15. A determined group created the #FreeMuSochua tag on Twitter . The network usedFacebook to share updates on her case. And a Change.org petitiongathered more than 2,700 names.
Small scale stuff, but it rocketed around the world, and here in the U.S. The Global Fund for Women and Vital Voices each called for her release, as did former U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer.
Today, the Cambodian government released Mu Sochua and her pro-democracy colleagues on bail.

“I believe social media has to make a difference in a moment such as this one,” said filmmaker and human rights advocate Abigail Disney, who was among the prominent activists advocating for Mu Sochua’s release.
“It is difficult to trace or measure its effect, of course, but there is no doubt that the more of us who yell and the louder we do so, the less viable it gets for a dictator to imprison a dissident,” she said. “This is the thrill and promise of our new globalized world.  Very little can remain opaque, and very few leaders, dictator or not, enjoy being vilified by global public opinion.  It’s not a panacea, but it sure is one important arrow in the quiver of  and activist in constant danger and fear for her life.”
Mu Sochua, Member of Parliament, Cambodia
Mu Sochua, Member of Parliament, Cambodia (
Photo
 credit: US Mission Geneva)
That inability to public acts hidden, to quietly jail prominent opponents in countries with any digital connection to the rest of the world is a strong counter-argument to those who completely dismiss social media “slacktivism” as empty and without result. Clearly, Mu Sochua (who I met a few years ago at a feminist development conference) understands the power of the network – which she reached out to via a blog post from prison.
“There is no peace without justice,” she wrote. “There is no human rights without freedoms of speech and of assembly.”
There is another factor here as well, one that I’ve written about before. The power of the global movement to empower women has grown via the networked world. It has leveled the playing field, and provided a platform for a faster track to equality. It is a network that shares powerful voices freely and respectfully, even amidst political disagreement.
Mu Sochua’s story is a striking one. After 18 years in exile (she was sent away by here parents as a teenager in the violent 1970s), Mu returned to Cambodia in 1989 and served as adviser on women’s affairs to the prime minister, was elected to the national assembly and was minister of women’s and a veterans’ affairs from 1998 to 2004, a position she relinquished to join the Sam Rainsy Party, the leading opposition party in Cambodia.
In 2002 she mobilized 12,000 women candidates to run for commune elections, with over 900 women winning and still actively promoting the women’s agenda at the grass-roots level. In that same year she helped create and pass the Prevention of DomesticViolence Bill, which imposes severe penalties on marital rape and abuse of minors. Her work in Cambodia also includes campaigns with men to end domestic violence and the spread of HIV/AIDS; working for the rights of female entrepreneurs; working for labor laws that provide fair wages and safe working conditions for female workers; and working for the development of communities for squatters with schools, health centers, sanitation, and employment.
This work put her in opposition to the government, which has taken action against her – and she remains a powerful symbol, not just in Cambodia.
“I’ve seen the power of a woman like Mu Sochua when she speaks to women from other countries,” said Disney. “She is a voice for courage and unrelenting commitment, and her voice acts to strengthen other women who find themselves in the terrifying position of having to fight their own governments for human rights and dignity.”
Within a week, Mu Sochua was arrested by the regime she opposes, charged with insurrection, and eventually released after an outcry of prominent and empowered voices. To me, it’s another  moment in the ascent of loosely organized and decentralized feminist networks that are changing the landscape of social culture.

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