Bluelady Blog

In Cambodian society, which was matriarchal from its foundation, the question of why so few women hold top positions in the government, NGO community and private sector seems to escape all who attempt an answer. Like their male counterparts, women also desire a share of the economic benefits being made available in today’s rapidly advancing […]

A recent study said that youth are the most vulnerable group in Southeast Asia and asked the question: “Is there enough work being done to make sure that AIDS doesn’t start to spread among Cambodia’s youth?” It does not take a rocket scientist to see that AIDS is indiscriminate and can happen to anybody, rich

My time in the United States for one month, after participating in an international seminar for journalists at the Population Reference Bureau, longer than previously intended, gives me some insights into the life of women in Cambodia and around the world. My intensive contacts with different women from Africa, Asia, Europe, and America also do

Christmas is a big deal in the west, especially in the United States which consumes and imports many Christmas products from China and other countries. It has been repeated time and again that Christmas has been increasingly commercialized over the past decades. And, if that is true, it has certainly become a traditionally commercial festival

On my way to the United States, which is actually my first-ever encounter to the place, I met two Cambodian women and spotted many young Cambodian girls at the Phnom Penh International Airport – I thought they were teenagers. They were pretty and well-dressed. Different from my last flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where many

When people think about Phnom Penh, they remember the past when Phnom Penh was considered the “Pearl of Asia” and one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina. But, with the race to build the highest building in Phnom Penh for the past 10 years, the skyline has changed quickly and will surely change at

Coming to America has always been a dream of some Cambodian kids back home. Every year, many Cambodians sort out various ways to come and reside legally in the United States of America. And, that makes me wonder why more and more except Cambodian students who come here for studies are willing to leave their

When I first received false information about the collapse of the ‘exit’ bridge at Diamond Island – Koh Pich in Khmer – due to a large crowd and such a small sized area where festivities were usually held, I thought that this would happen anyway. Maybe I was too skeptical about any urban development in

Early Marriage

By Kounila Keo & Colin Meyn Coming to terms with the loss of life in the stampede on Koh Pich’s north bridge in the final hours of this year’s Water Festival has made for particularly trying times in the capital city of Cambodia. 351 people died and hundreds more were injured in the crowd of