Ly Thuch, First Vice-President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), said the government encourages the participation of women in all forms of demining in the country.

Thuch was speaking at the September 19 closing ceremony of a consultation meeting for gender mainstreaming, organised in support of the Clearing for Results Phase IV project.

The meeting aimed to jointly review a draft gender policy and gather input and feedback from operators, the Mine Action Planning Unit and various stakeholders, with the feedback and discussions improving the CMAA guidelines and implementation planning of the policy.

Thuch said the guidelines are a tool that would aid gender mainstreaming in the main pillars of mine action, such as mine research, clearance of mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), risk education, mine victim assistance and advocacy.

“The government encourages the participation of women in all forms of work in Cambodia. Through the introduction of policies which promote gender equality, women’s rights are protected and they will fulfil more roles in social and political activities,” he said.

According to Thuch, the mine action sector in Cambodia has a large number of women involved in decision-making, with about 50 per cent of deminers being women.

“One reason why the mine action sector has so many women employed is that women are the majority in the most vulnerable communities, and these communities are the ones most at risk from mines. This has motivated many women to join in efforts to clear mines,” he said.

In order for women to be free from worries and fears and to change their mindsets to be stronger and more courageous, Thuch provided several principles that women should follow.

“These principles are to do the best they possibly can and allow themselves to be seen. They should go further and not be afraid to give it their all. They should be aware of where they come from and know what it means to be doing this difficult, important work,” he said.

One of them is Sophin Sophary, who has been appointed executive director of the NGO Cambodia Self Help Demining after eight years of field work and additional training on demining and clearance skills.

Sophary told The Post that in modern times, men and women were equal in all aspects of social work, even when facing serious challenges.

“Considering women as weak or unable to do this or that is discrimination against women,” she said.

Mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and ERWs, including cluster munitions, pose a serious threat to the lives, wellbeing and economic development of individuals and communities in Cambodia and the world. Women, men, girls and boys can be affected differently, which is why all mine action programmes are designed and implemented based on these differing factors.

Thuch noted that in more than 30 years of work, Cambodia has cleared more than 2,600sq km and destroyed more than 26,000 anti-tank mines. More than one million anti-personnel mines have been found and destroyed as well as more than three million ERWs.

The remaining 1,991sq km remains to be cleared, he added.

The CMAA will use nearly $6 million to clear mines in six provinces and seven communes that benefit from the Samdech Techo Project for Mine Action, themed “Providing safe ground, creating smiles”. Phase I aims to declare several provinces mine free, at least one by the end of the year and one in mid-2023.