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Trudy Jacobsen
School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, University of Queensland
'Re-thinking 'Traditional' Perspectives: Women's Associations in Cambodia, 1979-2000'
Women's associations have existed in post-revolutionary Cambodia since the collapse of the Democratic Kampuchea, or Khmer Rouge, regime in 1979. These associations have encountered significant obstacles to the achievement of widespread acceptance over the last two decades. The reluctance of post-revolutionary governments to disentangle the idea of 'traditional' values from those of the colonial era, more than fifty years after decolonisation, has contributed to the difficulty in fostering approval for women's movements within mainstream Cambodian society. Gender inequality in education and, therefore, in employment opportunities and earning potential, have caused a perceived lessening of women's economic and political importance, reflected in the lack of enthusiasm for organised women's activities. This gender imbalance has resulted in a generalisation of Cambodian women as passive and in need of assistance, both material and ideological, from their Western counterparts. Studies of post-revolutionary Cambodian women's associations are largely dismissive of those organised by Cambodian women themselves. This paper will argue that such dismissal is unwarranted and uninformed. Cambodian women's associations since 1979 have been active, autonomous, and articulate in challenging issues that oppress women in Cambodia and are effectively redressing gender imbalances within Cambodian society.
Bio: Trudy Jacobsen is currently completing her PhD thesis, Apsaras, Accoutrements, Activists: 2,000 Years of Cambodian Women and Their History, in the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics at the University of Queensland. In addition to having papers accepted for inclusion at the 2nd Annual Conference on Gender & Indochina in Thailand, in 2001, and the International Convention of Asian Scholars, scheduled for August 2003, she has had several papers published in the field of Asian and Women's Studies. She has lectured at the University of Queensland on South and Southeast Asian statecraft, women and Hinduism, and the modern history of Southeast Asia. Her research interests include the political and religious history of Southeast Asia; interaction between Southeast Asia, India and China; the history of mainland Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia; the history of women in Cambodia; the comparative history of Asian political legitimation and authority; Asian women's participation in nationalist and revolutionary movements of the twentieth century; the impact of Theravada Buddhism on women in pre-modern Southeast Asian societies; sexuality and gender in classical India; sexuality and gender in Southeast Asian history; matriarchy in Southeast Asian history; comparative history of French and British colonial policy in mainland Southeast Asia; and the historiography of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century historians of Southeast Asia.
<trudy_jacobsen@hotmail.com>