Cambodian Women and Girls: Challenges to and Opportunities for Their Participation in Higher Education

Overview & Synopsis

Achieving enrolment equality between boys and girls in basic education has been a distinctive achievement of the Cambodian education system. At the upper-secondary level, and especially within the higher education sector, there is, however, more progress to be made. Achieving enrolment equality across all sectors will not automatically mean that there is equality of access to opportunity in many personal, professional, and political realms of life. Enrolment equality will not, for example, ensure that women have the right to an education, that they have the right within education to a gender-aware and supportive environment, and that they have the right through education to access meaningful education outcomes that link education equality with broader processes of gender justice (Colclough, 2008; Subrahmanian, 2005). Cultural norms and assumptions need to change for women in Cambodia to be able to enjoy a full range of these rights. [For the complete volume, "Education in Cambodia: From Year Zero towards International Standards. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects. Volume 64," see ED675723.]