Promote gender equality and empower

Significant gender inequalities were a feature of traditional society
In Cambodia, Traditional gender relations have been described as “relatively equal’’, in common with other South-East Asian counties. Women exercised considerable autonomy and independence, were able to own assets such as land, handle significant financial transaction, and had a say in household decision-making. Both men and women could inherit rice fields, village lands and houses, and the gender division of productive tasks. Despite women’s important economic role, significant gender inequalities were also a feature of traditional Cambodia society.

Women were traditionally assigned a lower status than that of men, received lower levels of education, and were typically not well represented in public decision-making processes outside the immediate household. Persistent gender inequalities are reflected in the relatively low ranking Cambodia receives on both the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). The gender disparities reflected in is GDI at 0.594 places Cambodia at a low level of gender-related development relative to neighboring countries. Cambodia ranked 113th out of 157 countries worldwide where the GDI was calculated in 2005. Cambodia has a GEM of just 0.377 and ranked 83rd out of the 93 countries where data was available on these indicators in 2005.  To see more.