Mu Sochua ( km, មូរ សុខហួ; born 15 May 1954) is a

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and rights activist. She was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-pr ...

from

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

to 2017, a seat which she previously held from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

. She was a member and Vice President of the

Cambodia National Rescue Party The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP; km, គណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ ) was a major political party in Cambodia. It was founded in 2012 as a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party (Cambodia), Hum ...

(CNRP) until its dissolve, and previously a member of the

Sam Rainsy Party The Candlelight Party ( km, គណបក្សភ្លើងទៀន) is a liberal party in Cambodia. The party was a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, Liberal International, and the Alliance of Democrats. It is the largest ...

(SRP) prior to its merger with the Human Rights Party. As a member of

FUNCINPEC The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...

, she also served as Minister of Women and Veterans' Affairs in

Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...

's coalition government from 1998 to 2004. She is currently one of 118 senior opposition figures serving a five-year ban from politics following a court ruling on 16 November 2017.

Early life

Sochua was born in Phnom Penh to a Sino Khmer father (Chinese Name：莫子凯) and a Sino Khmer mother (Chinese Name：沈珊) and received her early education at the French Lycee. In 1972, Sochua's parents sent her to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

for further studies. A year later, she relocated to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to join her brother there. When the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 197 ...

took control of Cambodia in 1975, her parents vanished. Sochua would remain in exile for the next 18 years. While Sochua was in the US, she earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Psychology from the

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

in 1979, and a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social wor ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1981 before returning to Cambodia to help rebuild a society shattered by war. Between 1975 and 1981, she was also the President of the Cambodian community in San Francisco. She joined politics in 1995 as a

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...

activist, citing then

U.S. First Lady The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

as her inspiration.

Return from exile

Sochua returned to Cambodia in 1989 after 18 years in exile, and has worked as an advocate for human rights, working to stop

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

, domestic violence and worker exploitation. Sochua formed the first organization for women, called Khemara ( km, ខេមរា). and joined the

Funcinpec The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...

political party, winning a national assembly seat representing Battambang in 1998. Soon afterwards, she was asked to take over the Ministry of Women's and Veterans' Affairs, one of only two women in the cabinet. In July 2004 she stepped down from her role as a Minister, citing corruption as a major obstacle to her work. Almost immediately, she transferred her allegiance to the Sam Rainsy party, where she is deputy head of the steering committee.

April 2009 defamation action

At a press conference held on 23 April 2009, Mu Sochua announced she would file a defamation complaint against Cambodian prime Minister

with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. "I have nothing against Samdech the Prime Minister. As a Member of Parliament, I respect him. But the words of Samdech the Prime Minister said in public affect my honour and my dignity as a Khmer woman. With this complaint, I only want justice and honour, as a Khmer woman", Sochua said. She added that she only claimed a 500-riel (0.12 dollar) compensation as a token, and a public apology on the part of the head of government. Following Sochua's announcement, Ky Tech, legal adviser to the government of Cambodia, was expected to file a counter-suit for gravely defaming the PM. The Ministry of Justice was expected to request the President of the parliament to vote to remove Sochua's parliamentary immunity. With only 25 percent of the votes, the SRP would be powerless to prevent further action against her – including imprisonment. Sochua's letter calling for support from the international community – "As I walk to prison" — was circulated around the World Wide Web. On two previous occasions, when SRP party leader Sam Rainsy's parliamentary immunity was removed, he fled Cambodia under threat of criminal charges and went into exile in France.

2017 Threats to end the "rebellion" Mu Sochua flees

Since the arrest of Kem Sokha Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that "It is not done yet" and warns that the "rebellion" crackdown will not stop with Sokha. On the 3 October 2017 Mu Sochua fled the country after a tip off that she will be arrested. Sochua was detained by Malaysian immigration authorities on 7 November 2019, shortly before a planned return to Cambodia.

Personal life

Sochua was married in 1984 to an American Scott Leiper, and is a mother of three daughters, including women's rights activist, Devi Leiper O'Malley. Scott Leiper died in 2016. Sochua lived in the United States for 18 years and attended university there. She also reportedly lost her ability to speak formal Khmer, having left her home country for almost two decades. She holds American

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

Awards and recognition

In 2005, she received the Leadership Award in Washington, DC, from the

Vital Voices Vital Voices Global Partnership is an American international, 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights. The organi ...

Foundation, co-founded by Senator

. 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 Domestic Violence 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. In 2005, Sochua was one of 1,000 women nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

for her work against sex trafficking of women in Cambodia and Thailand. Also in 2005, Sochua was honoured with the Vital Voices Human Rights Global Leadership Award for her efforts to stem the tide of human trafficking. In 2006, Sochua was awarded the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award from the

for distinguished record of service in Cambodia and an Honorary PhD in Law from the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. In 2009, Sochua was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Eleanor Roosevelt Project at The

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

for leadership in human rights. In 2010, Sochua was named the 2010 People's Choice Honoree by

Global Exchange Global Exchange was founded in 1988 and is an advocacy group, human rights organization, and a 501(c)(3) organization, based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group defines its mission as, "to promote human rights and social, econom ...

for their Human Rights Heroes Award. The Human Rights Awards Gala brings together activists, supporters, and friends to recognize the efforts of exceptional individuals and organizations from around the country and around the world. In 2015, Sochua was honored by her alma mater, San Francisco State University, as the Alumna of the Year.

References

External links

Mu Sochua
Official site
Mu Sochua's Blog
Official blog
''Bringing corruption to heel''
published in the ''South Eastern Globe'', November 2008.

published in ''The New York City Independent Media Center'', April 2009.
''Females making their presence felt''
published in the ''South Eastern Globe'', December 2008.
''Cambodia's New War''
published in ''The Daily Beast'', April 2009.
''A Face of Cambodian Courage''
published in ''The Indypendent'', April 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mu, Sochua 1954 births 20th-century Cambodian politicians 21st-century Cambodian politicians Cambodian human rights activists Cambodian democracy activists Cambodian emigrants to the United States Cambodian expatriates in France Cambodian exiles American feminists American women's rights activists Cambodian politicians of Chinese descent American people of Chinese descent Cambodia National Rescue Party politicians FUNCINPEC politicians Government ministers of Cambodia Khmer Krom people Living people Members of the National Assembly (Cambodia) People from Phnom Penh People from San Francisco People with acquired American citizenship Candlelight Party politicians San Francisco State University alumni UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare alumni Women's ministers Women government ministers of Cambodia 21st-century Cambodian women politicians