In Siem Reap a group of women is finding economic independence by becoming tuk-tuk drivers. It’s not an easy road to take, as they are met with misogyny and prejudice. But for a couple of Norwegian visitors, driving with these women simply just felt ‘safe.’
“They are really passionate about what they do, and they really enjoy it and feel proud,” the one Norwegian visitor, Stine Solheim, said to South China Morning Post.
However, for the well-known driver, Kim Sokleang – also known as Tuk-Tuk Lady – the field is male-dominated, and discrimination against Cambodian women still exists. She began driving a rickshaw in the Cambodian capital to feed her sons after a divorce in 2013, and didn’t have any passengers on her first day. Eventually she re-located to Siem Reap to drive tourists.
“They think women are too weak to hold the steering wheel, and women cannot work like others,” said Kim.
But today she is lauded by locals and foreign tourists. Just like the two Norwegians girls who felt impressed by her efforts to stand up for women.
Cambodia has taken legal steps towards a more gender equal society. But a patriarchal and rather conservative society still remains. To read more about the conditions and stories the tuk-tuk drivers go trough due to their sex, read here.
