USAID EVALUATION HIGHLIGHTS NO. 67 September 2000 Aftermath: Women and Women’s Organizations In Postconflict

Center for Development Information and Evaluation U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington

Summary ence the political landscape through voter education and advocacy programs. As one midlevel trainee told the team: “Men cannot abuse women if women know HE EFFECTS OF TWO DECADES of conflict and their rights. Now we understand how to work together in Cambodia on women and gender for justice.” Trelations have been all-pervasive. The war—in particular, the four-year rule of terror of the murder- But women’s organizations continue to face many ous —largely demolished women’s psy- obstacles. The country has no tradition for civil soci- chological well-being, family roles, interpersonal ety organizations. Nor is the government always sup- relationships, economic activities, and participation in portive of women’s organizations. The organizations the political arena. depend upon external assistance for their programs and survival, which limits their autonomy and the capacity In the wake of the carnage, the international com- to fashion new programs. The of these munity mobilized to help create and nurture a variety organizations is dominated by one charismatic figure of indigenous women’s organizations aimed at improv- reluctant to delegate authority. Most of the women’s ing the lot of Cambodian women. This was a new phe- organizations have yet to develop an open manage- nomenon for Cambodia: before the postconflict era, ment system in which the staff can discuss issues and independent women’s groups were unknown. problems freely.

In January 1999, USAID’s Center for Development Women’s organizations will require continual Information and Evaluation fielded a team to Cambo- international support to survive and play an important dia to explore the role of women’s organizations in role in improving the social and economic conditions that country. The mission was part of a broader study of women and promoting gender equality. Thus the of women in postconflict societies that included as well international community can help by taking a long- Bosnia, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, and Rwanda. term perspective and providing technical and economic assistance. Despite their small number (18), the team found that women’s organizations have been contributing to the empowerment of women in various ways. They A Land Ravaged by War are helping women through vocational training and microcredit programs. They are assisting victims of A country of 11 million people, Cambodia, has been HIV/AIDS, of domestic , and of trafficking and a victim of the and the genocidal regime forced prostitution. They are also beginning to influ- of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot. Few other

PN–ACG–602 1 countries in recent history have experienced such domly selected for marriage. Cumulatively, these poli- agony, wholesale destruction of their social fabric, and cies resulted in a disintegration of the institution of the utter devastation of their economic and political sys- family. tems. Between 1969 and 1993, the country suffered clandestine military operations by the - While Cambodian society endured horrific suffer- ese and the Viet Cong, carpet-bombing on a massive ing on the domestic front, the Khmer Rouge’s scale by the , genocide under the Maoist irredentist designs on Vietnam would soon lead to tur- Khmer Rouge, large-scale internal migration, invasion moil on an international level. Combined with the per- by Vietnam, and recurring guerrilla attacks by the de- secution of indigenous Vietnamese, the Khmer feated Khmer Rouge and their allies. Only after 1993 Rouge’s claims on various parts of southern Vietnam did Cambodians begin to live in relative peace. That led to heated border clashes in which hundreds of Viet- the country has survived and has begun reconstruc- namese civilians were killed. Cambodia’s eastern tion is a tribute to both the resilience of its people and neighbor retaliated by invading Cambodia. It toppled the generosity of the international community. the Pol Pot regime on 7 . Vietnam then installed a new, essentially totalitarian government Unquestionably the worst of the more than two friendly to its interests. decades of conflict came with the Khmer Rouge dys- topia of 1975–79. In its first major act, the Khmer Establishment of a new regime failed to bring peace, Rouge ordered the evacuation of the capital (Phnom however. Guerrilla warfare soon erupted, as the Khmer Penh) and all provincial towns. They forced all resi- Rouge, supported by China, launched operations in the dents—even hospital patients—to move to the coun- north. Thus fueled, the warfare continued for another tryside. The Khmer Rouge summarily executed those nine years, draining the country’s capital and human who resisted or were unable to move. Thousands died resources. in this forced migration. With the end of the , the major powers The Khmer Rouge obsessively distrusted anyone finally initiated diplomatic efforts to bring peace to who could think and reflect. The regime demanded Cambodia. Those efforts culminated in the formula- nothing less than complete control of its citizens’ tion of a peace plan in 1989. The plan called on the thoughts, achieved through fear, repression, and in- different factions to disarm and form an interim coali- doctrination. They severed links with the outside world tion government under Cambodia’s prewar leader, by denying people access to mail, radio, telephone, Prince . It also stipulated that the and other forms of mass communication. They abol- United Nations would establish a body, the UN Tran- ished money. They closed schools and universities. sitional Authority in Cambodia, to supervise the gov- Those suspected of working with the previous regime ernment and to organize free and fair elections. De- suddenly disappeared. Perceived as enemies of the spite many problems, the plan was implemented in state, the educated—teachers, doctors, and other pro- 1993, with UNTAC succeeding in holding national elec- fessionals—met the same fate. The Khmer Rouge car- tions. Voter turnout was remarkably high—90 percent. ried out systematic ethnic cleansing (against ethnic A constitutional monarchy was formed, with Sihanouk Vietnamese and Chinese) and what has been termed named as king. . Estimates of the dead during the Khmer Rouge’s sanguinary 42-month reign range from 1 to 3 Conflict and million, out of a 1975 population of 7.3 million. Cambodian Women The Khmer Rouge attempted to wipe out . They also sought to undermine the institution of the It is evident that the effect of the attenuated con- family. Children were often separated from their fami- flict on the lives of Cambodians was all-pervasive. Here lies. When not separated, they were encouraged to spy we look at the effect on Cambodian women in four on their parents. The Khmer Rouge also promoted mass particular contexts. weddings in which young men and women were ran-

2 Status and Role in the Family Social Contract and Interpersonal Trust

The conflict affected the institution of the family During CDIE’s fieldwork in Cambodia, many in at least three profound ways. First, the Khmer Rouge women focus-group participants complained about a sought to undermine family cohesion and redefine the lack of trust and unwillingness to help in time of need. roles of family members. They assigned men and Some recalled with nostalgia preconflict days, when women the same tasks in agriculture, irrigation, and people shared with and assisted friends and neighbors. other activities. They encouraged family members to Poverty seems to be a driving force behind this issue: spy on one another. They organized marriages between where there is no surplus, sharing may mean hunger. randomly selected people without the consent of their families. The cumulative effects of Khmer Rouge poli- This problem has had a profound effect on cies on the family have been devastating. microcredit programs in Cambodia. It is noteworthy that the average size of self-help groups for credit Second, the large-scale movements of people re- ranges from three to five—low, compared with other sulting from carpet-bombing, developing countries. A forced evacuation of cities by number of women indi- the Khmer Rouge, and a Men have found themselves in a cated they would join only guerrilla war on the Thai bor- ‘ immediate family mem- der contributed to family dis- better bargaining position for bers for group credit pro- integration. Often, husbands wives. They have been able to grams. Because of the dif- drifted away under physical ficulty of persuading un- and psychological stress, offer lower bride prices and easily related individuals to abandoning their families. divorce their spouses and find work together, credit groups have established And third, the high num- new wives.’ new requirements. Rela- ber of casualties of young tives may be members of men in combat resulted in a the same economic group, demographic imbalance. but they must physically Those casualties created a surplus of women of mar- live in separate households. riageable age during the 1980s and early 1990s. Economic Burdens and Opportunities The upshot of these factors is, in general, a dimi- nution in the traditional status of women. Men have The conflict imposed economic hardships on found themselves in a better bargaining position for women, but it also opened new opportunities to par- wives. They have been able to offer lower bride prices ticipate in the economic sphere. Because of the mass and easily divorce their spouses and find new wives. mobilization of men into the military, , and The decline in status has also led to a high incidence increased labor demand for war and rehabilitation of domestic violence. work, women were forced to undertake activities and perform economic roles that had been restricted to men. Another outcome is an increase in female-headed This led to the undermining of the traditional sexual households. Women presently head between 25 and division of labor that had characterized Cambodian 30 percent of Cambodia’s households. Such house- society. holds usually face severe economic difficulties. How- ever, the incidence of poverty is 37 percent in male- During the conflict, women made significant em- headed households, only 33 percent in female-headed ployment gains in the industrial sector. Before the households. One possible explanation: female-headed democratic transition, most workers—7,000 of households often include relatively prosperous ex- 11,000—in state industrial enterprises were women. tended families. Another: women may simply be more With the transition to a market economy, the owner- adept at developing a wide range of economic activi- ship of many of these enterprises passed into private ties in the informal sector. hands, and increased numbers of men entered into the

3 labor market. Nonetheless, in the garment industry, The Emergence which has emerged as the largest industrial employer, women still constitute 90 percent of the work force. Of Women’s Organizations

The presence of a large number of expatriates, es- The emergence of independent women’s organi- pecially UN peacekeepers, also led to a rapid growth zations has been a postconflict phenomenon. The coun- in another industry—prostitution. While prostitution try had no experience with civil society organizations, had existed in the past, it had been hidden. To meet let alone any created by and for women. Five factors the demands of the expatriates, many entrepreneurs have contributed to the emergence of women’s orga- openly set up brothels, which were soon frequented nizations: by local customers as well, institutionalizing the phe- nomenon. Initially these brothels imported commer- n The political opening created by the democratic cial sex workers from Vietnam and , but soon transition. After more than two decades of totali- they were also recruiting from the countryside. Ac- tarian and authoritarian regimes, this political open- cording to a recent study, more than 14,000 women ing has been an essential, though not a sufficient, work as prostitutes. Girls under 18 make up more than condition for the growth of all kinds of voluntary 15 percent of these sex workers. organizations, including women’s organizations.

Political Participation n The presence of a large number of international nongovernmental organizations. In interviews with As in many war-torn societies, women’s involve- the CDIE team, many women leaders acknowledged ment in politics increased during the conflict. Although that the impetus for establishing their organiza- a few women did occupy important positions in the tions came from international NGOs. Sihanouk government, the Khmer Rouge were the first to organize women at the grass-roots level. Early on, n The generous availability of resources for women’s Khmer Rouge guerrilla leaders established a women’s organizations. Viewing indigenous organizations as wing of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Once an essential buffer between state and citizen, inter- the Khmer Rouge came to power, the women’s wing national NGOs provided generous financial and tech- assumed more power and prestige and became another nical resources to those organizations. (In recent instrument of political repression and intimidation. years, though, international funds have been dwin- dling.) The communist regime that succeeded the Khmer Rouge took major steps to enhance women’s partici- n The growth of gender sensitivity among national pation in the political process. It promoted women to policymakers. It became recognized that the de- leadership positions in commune solidarity groups. velopment of Cambodian society was not possible Some scholars have suggested that the regime did so without the involvement of women. This sensitiv- mainly because men were reluctant to serve in these ity provided philosophical and practical justifica- groups, as officeholders received no salary. tion for establishing women’s organizations.

The situation began to change during the transition n The return of Cambodian women who had gained to democracy. In a major irony linked to the peace education or experience in leadership outside the process, women’s political participation has declined country. Having lived outside Cambodia, some- rather than increased during the transition. Only five times in Western democracies, these refugees or women, for example, were elected to the new National expatriates were aware of the contributions that Assembly in 1993. It is likely that war fatigue, politi- civil society organizations can make to different cal disenchantment, the unstable economic situation, cross-sections of the population. and the reassertion of the Khmer identity with its em- phasis on women’s traditional roles have contributed to this phenomenon.

4 Impact of Women’s Groups Women’s organizations have also begun to influ- ence the political landscape, though in a limited way. During elections in 1998, a few women’s organiza- As of December 1998, women’s organizations tions participated in voter education programs for numbered 18. These groups have taken on the mission women. One group has begun to address leadership of improving the lives of Cambodian women. Broadly training for increasing women’s participation in poli- speaking, they are involved in three arenas: economic tics. By promoting participation, the group is also high- development, social service, and advocacy and democ- lighting the issue of gender equality. “Men cannot racy. abuse women if women know their rights,” a midlevel trainee told the CDIE team. “Now we understand how Despite their small number, women’s organizations to work together for justice.” have been contributing to the empowerment of women in various ways. For one thing, they are helping vul- In brief, women’s organizations are redefining and nerable women through vocational training and expanding the limited social, cultural, and economic microcredit programs. roles available to women in Credit programs are par- Cambodian society. Empow- ticularly effective, helping erment remains a critical is- women initiate small in- ‘In brief, women’s organizations sue for women, whose social come-generating activities are redefining and expanding the status and respect in society such as farming, poultry has been altered by loss of raising, and petty trade. limited social, cultural, and family, demographic shifts, Moreover, access to credit economic roles available to changing kinship and mar- has given women new riage patterns, and a confidence and identity. women in Cambodian society.’ woman’s increasingly bur- densome role as sole sup- Women’s organiza- porter of her children. tions are assisting victims of HIV/AIDS, of domestic violence, and of trafficking and forced prostitution. Although only a small frac- Obstacles to Fuller Success tion of the needy women receive assistance, the aid does make a difference in the lives of those women. For all their merit, actual and potential, women’s The real contribution of these organizations lies in gen- organizations in Cambodia face many hurdles, both erating public awareness of these problems. Pioneer- cultural and practical. Broadly speaking, no tradition ing efforts of many organizations have helped center exists in Cambodia for voluntary organizations. More- public attention on the plight of commercial sex work- over, women suffer from a low social status, which ers and the victims of forced prostitution. Their activi- impedes their assumption of leadership roles in pub- ties have led to the arrest of many brothel owners and lic. There is also a shortage of trained and educated the rescue of young girls enslaved as prostitutes. women who possess technical and managerial skills and expertise. Often a section of political leaders and The organizations have also been raising awareness government officials feel threatened by the emergence of gender issues through the media. The Cambodian of women’s organizations; the officials are not sup- Women’s Media Center, for example, produces a televi- portive of them. sion series, in the style of opera and drama, that explores gender-related subjects in inventive and interesting ways. Women’s organizations also suffer from many or- These programs question the traditional roles and im- ganizational and managerial problems. Most groups ages of women. More important, the leaders of women’s are led by charismatic leaders who are unwilling to organizations are providing important role models that delegate authority and power to the midlevel profes- contrast sharply with the sexualized and objectified im- sionals. Consequently, the management styles of these ages of women common in imported movies and televi- organizations are nonparticipatory. Most organizations sion series from the West, Thailand, and Hong Kong. also lack monitoring and evaluation capabilities,

5 although many are gradually acquiring them. Some skills, experience, and vision to help reconstruct gen- organizations follow the model of affluent international der relations—and their country—upon their return to NGOs with a large support staff, air conditioners, and society. four-wheel-drive vehicles, rather than the more realis- tic example of local government agencies. 4. Newly founded women’s organizations can carry out a wide range of programs. Therefore, the Finally, women’s organizations are totally depen- international community can use newly created dent on international funding—understandable, given women’s organizations to channel humanitarian and the scarcity of local resources. Neither the government developmental assistance in postconflict societies. nor the private sector is in a position to fund them. Economic dependence on international donors makes 5. The international community can help establish women’s organizations beholden to the international women’s organizations in postconflict societies. Such donors, restricting their autonomy and independence. organizations can develop local roots and gain politi- These organizations remain under constant pressure cal legitimacy despite their dependence on international to change their agenda to reflect the apparent funding resources. priorities of the international community. 6. International donors should consider multiyear Lessons Learned funding for women’s organizations, allowing the groups to concentrate on their social, economic, and political development activities. The Cambodian experience draws nine major lessons: 7. Women’s organizations provide an important setting for women to gain self-respect and participate 1. Comprehensive, targeted interventions based on in decision-making. Thus the international community a coherent policy framework are needed to help women can support the growth of such groups in postconflict and reconstruct gender relations in the conditions of societies not only to channel assistance to needy popu- postconflict societies. Gender-blind policies and pro- lations but also to empower women socially. grams are not sufficient to solve their problems. 8. Women’s organizations often follow the ex- 2. The war undermined the sexual division of ample of international NGOs in their working condi- labor, creating new opportunities for women in eco- tions, spending considerable resources on four-wheel- nomic and political affairs. Women entered into vari- drive vehicles, spacious offices, and large support staff. ous occupations closed to them earlier. They also held Such operations are questionable under the conditions important offices at national and local levels during of postconflict societies. The international community the conflict. After the war, international donors have should try to foster a realistic and affordable vision developed programs to consolidate those gains. Inter- among women’s organizations. national donors can follow such a course in other postconflict societies. 9. In Cambodia, women’s organizations have not specialized. Instead, they undertake similar programs, 3. Education and training of women in refugee competing with one another for external resources. camps can prepare them to assume leadership roles in International donors can learn from the Cambodian postconflict societies. Thus it makes sense for the case and encourage sectoral specialization by women’s international community to support education and train- organizations. ing in refugee camps, enabling them to acquire new

This Highlights, by Ross Bankson, of Conwal Incorporated, summarizes the findings of Working Paper No. 307, Aftermath: Women in Postconflict Cambodia, by Krishna Kumar, USAID senior social scientist; Hanna Baldwin, of DevTech Systems, Inc.; and Judy Benjamin, of the International Rescue Committee. To access this Highlights from the Internet, key in www.info.usaid.gov. Click on Publications/Partner Resources, then on USAID Evaluation Publications.

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