Cambodia’s gender champions: Voices of leadership and change

Welcome to UN Women’s storytelling initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Cambodia.

Cambodia has made strides on gender equality over recent decades, with more women entering education, employment and public life. Yet leadership is still not equally shared, and for many women, the path forward remains shaped by poverty, social expectations, unpaid care work and limited access to opportunities.

Across Cambodia, however, women leaders and their allies are quietly changing that picture. This project brings together the voices of civic leaders from across the country – women and men working in districts, provinces and communities who are creating space for women and girls to learn, lead and make decisions.

This series was made possible with support from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea through the UN Women project Beijing+30 Activation: Strengthening Women’s Leadership to Accelerate Progress on Women’s Rights in Asia.

Stories

Pan Khamnuon - For many, leadership began with struggle. Pan Khamnuon, now Chief of the Office of Social Affairs and Social Welfare in Stung Treng Municipality, left school early and helped her family survive by selling noodles. Today, she encourages women and girls to become self-sufficient: “When our women have skills and knowledge, they will strive for their independence.”

Sok Sophal - Chief of the Office of Social Affairs and Social Welfare in Kampong Chhnang, remembers being kept home from school as a child to care for her younger sister. Later, while many of her friends dropped out and married early, she kept studying and eventually became a civil servant. Her message: support girls to stay in school, expand women’s leadership and create opportunities for women to shape solutions.

Pun Chhorvy - In Mondulkiri, Indigenous leader Pun Chhorvy began school at 16, as there was no school in her community. She later rose from cleaning a district office to becoming Chief of the Office of Social Affairs and Social Welfare. Her journey now inspires others: “People always said, ‘Look at Chhavy, she can do it!’ Now, they use my story to teach their own children.”

Sorn Saroeun - These leaders are also clear-eyed about the barriers that remain, particularly in remote areas. Sorn Saroeun, Governor of Siem Pang District, explains: “If a family has two children, a boy and a girl, they often give the opportunity to the son.” That’s why his district focuses on dormitories for girls, helping more young women continue their education.

San Sokha - Having pushed through hardship to continue her own education, San Sokha, Director of the Provincial Department of Women’s Affairs in Stung Treng, has spent years working to expand women’s participation in decision-making while building girls’ confidence to imagine a different future: “My final hope is that girls today, will become tomorrow’s leaders.”

Chhun Sereyrath - Again and again, these stories show that leadership is not only about individual success. It is about opening doors for others. Chhun Sereyrath, Director of the Provincial Department of Commerce in Pursat, says: “Opportunity is the starting point for every woman to show her talent. I want to serve as an example to other women, so they feel brave and courageous.”

Chan Putheary - In Svay Rieng, Chan Putheary, Deputy Head of Administration at Romduol District Hall, has long worked across remote communities, advocating for shared caregiving and household responsibilities: “When these responsibilities are shared, women have more opportunity to participate in the community and take on meaningful roles in leadership.”

Ieng Sopheapanhat - In Kampong Cham City, Ieng Sopheapanhat, Chief of the Office of Social Affairs and Social Welfare, has built her leadership around protection, persistence and ensuring that women facing violence are heard in decisions that shape their lives: “If we don't have women participating, there is no complete or perfect agreement.”

Loch Vannin - And in Tuek Phos District, Kampong Chhnang, Loch Vannin, Chief of the Office of Social Affairs and Social Welfare, works to address violence, unsafe migration and other pressures facing families. His message is simple and direct: “Women are great leaders, and men cannot succeed without women.”

Together, these civic champions offer something both hopeful and urgent. They remind us that women’s leadership does not happen by accident. It grows when girls can stay in school, when women have access to skills and support, when care work is shared, when laws are enforced, and when institutions make room for women’s voices. Across Cambodia, those voices are already leading that change.

Accelerating the achievement of women’s full and equal decision-making power in private and public domains, and at all levels of government, is a priority action area of the Beijing+30 Action Agenda. This Gender Champions series is part of the UN Women project Beijing+30 Activation: Strengthening Women's Leadership to Accelerate Progress on Women's Rights in South and South-East Asia supported by the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.