7 March 2013
Phnom Penh, Cambodia In commemoration of the 102nd Anniversary of International Women’s Day, the National Audit Authority (NAA) organized an event around this year’s theme: “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity to Accelerate Progress”. Her Excellency Som Kimsuor, Auditor General of the NAA, presided over the event while 59 women from the NAA and the GIZ project to support the NAA joined the event as well.
Advancing technical knowledge to advance women’s status
Ms. Kuoy Lang, representative of the women of NAA, conveyed the message from Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. This year, messages focused on improving technical knowledge of women to strengthen their rights and improve career opportunities. Ms. Kuoy Lang also summarized the activities and outcomes of women’s work inside the NAA.
In addition to Ms. Kuoy Lang’s speech, Auditor General Som Kimsuor stressed that achieving “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities to Accelerate Progress” requires promoting rights and opportunities for allowing the participation of women in the country’s development. This also requires encouraging Cambodian women and men to take action and stand as champions of gender equality.
Government Commitments to Reduce Gender Disparities
The 1993 Constitution states “Men and women have equal rights before the law and enjoy equal participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. This includes equality in marriage and family; employment; and equal pay. It also includes measures to prevent and eliminate of all forms of discrimination and exploitation of women.”
Additionally, the National Strategic Development Plan and the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) highlight the Government’s commitment to reduce gender disparities in all development sectors; the need to put in place effective measures to remove barriers that women face; and to increase opportunities for women to fully participate and benefit from development.
Precisely, GIZ also applies a gender mainstreaming strategy to help anchor the gender aspects of its work. This involves managing the development, and evaluation of decision-making processes and measures from a gender perspective while also measuring the impact of interventions on the lives of both women and men.