Mu Sochua (; born 15 May 1954) is a

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and rights activist. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Battambang Battambang (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang province and the List of cities and towns in Cambodia, third largest city in Cambodia. The city is situated on the Sangkae River, which winds its way through t ...

from

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. She was a member and Vice President of the

Cambodia National Rescue Party The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP; , UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ) was a major political party in Cambodia. It was founded in 2012 as a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party. The party believed in the strengthening of freedo ...

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

Sam Rainsy Party The Candlelight Party (, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ) 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 opposition party in Cambo ...

(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, commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC, is a royalist political party in Cambodia. Founded in 1981 by Norodom Sihanouk, it began as a resistance movement again ...

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

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

'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 Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

to a Sino-Khmer father () and a Sino-Khmer mother () and received her early education at the French lycée. In 1972, Sochua's parents sent her to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for further studies. A year later, she relocated to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to join her brother there. When the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

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 A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Psychology from the

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

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 work ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

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 Entitlement (fair division), 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 c ...

activist, citing then

U.S. First Lady First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by 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 been codified or officially defined ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

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 act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

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

Funcinpec The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia, commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC, is a royalist political party in Cambodia. Founded in 1981 by Norodom Sihanouk, it began as a resistance movement again ...

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 citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

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 organiza ...

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 (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

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 The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

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 women activists Women 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 Politicians from San Francisco Naturalized citizens of the United States Candlelight Party politicians San Francisco State University alumni UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare alumni Women's ministers of Cambodia Women government ministers of Cambodia 21st-century Cambodian women politicians