Tep Sothy (; born February 13, 1973) 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 former Member of Parliament for

Takeo province Takeo may refer to: * Takéo Province, a province of Cambodia ** Doun Kaev (town), formerly known as Takéo, the capital of Takéo province * Ta Keo, an Angkorian temple in Cambodia * Takeo, Saga, a city in Saga Prefecture, Japan * Takeo (given nam ...

. She represented the Takeo province since 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 ...

won 55 seats in

2013 Cambodian general election General elections were held in Cambodia on 28 July 2013. The National Election Committee (NEC) announced that some 9.67 million Cambodians were eligible to cast their ballots to elect the 123-seat National Assembly. Voter turnout was reported t ...

. Before coming to Cambodia, Sothy was a high school teacher in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 2010, she decided to join Cambodia's Human Rights Party established and led by

Kem Sokha Kem Sokha (; born 27 June 1953) is a Cambodian former politician and activist who most recently served as the President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). He served as the Minority Leader, the highest-ranking opposition parliamentari ...

who previously led the

Cambodian Center for Human Rights The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR; ) is a non-partisan, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. It focuses primarily on civil and political ...

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 ...

for several years. Tep decided to move to Cambodia shortly before the 2013 National Elections. She told

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

Khmer Service in 2010 that she joined the political party because Kem Sokha was really "a great, moral, freedom-seeking leader." In 2012, 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 ...

and the Human Rights Party, Cambodia's two major political parties merged to form the

. Her work in Cambodia includes campaigns with women to improve gender awareness, introduction of gender sensitive laws, and policies to address issues on health, children's welfare, domestic violence, reproduction, and migrant workers rights.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tep, Sothy 1973 births Living people Politicians from Chicago Members of the National Assembly (Cambodia) Cambodia National Rescue Party politicians Cambodian women's rights activists Cambodian women activists