Ms. Ny Romdoul Second Deputy Commune Chief, Preaek Luong Commune, Aek Phnum District, Battambang Province “I am proud of the fact that I can help people even though my salary is very low” Ms. Ny Romdoul is a successful young woman in politics at the commune level in Cambodia. At 25 years old, she was been elected as the second deputy commune chief in Preaek Luong commune, Aek Phnum district, Battambang province, in June 2012. She is also currently a third-year management student at the University of Battambang. From Bak Roteh village, Romdoul was interested in joining in political affairs in 2006. She first started participating in meetings organized by Samrainsy party, before she became a member of the party. In order to gain training and learn how to become a leader, Romdoul often accompanied the party to the field during visits with the constituency, which made her want to work in the Commune/Sangkat Council. The most important element which spurred her interest in working in the Commune/Sangkat Council was witnessing corruption and wanting to work on reducing corruption. Specifically, she wants to improve the structure of her commune, including increasing transparency, public health services and more. In 2011, when Romduol was old enough to stand as a candidate in the elections, she was selected as a candidate in the first rank on her party’s list. She thought that she would have a good chance “because I often go to the field with the party, I am an attentive learner, I have worked hard as the finance officer for the party’s district, and I am brave.” Because she was supported by the political party, her villagers, and her family, she was elected as the second deputy commune chief, Preaek Luong commune, Aek Phnum district, Battambang. Although she has been successful so far, Romduol has also faced challenges. Before the election, when she was standing as a candidate, Romduol feared that, because she was so young and had little experience, she would make her party lose the seat. Moreover, she felt frustrated by unsupported from people while she ran on election campaign. Since her election, she has faced discrimination from male commune councilors: there have been times when she has not been given the chance to express her opinions and to be involved in certain aspects of the commune work. Nevertheless, she is committed to continue working in politics because she has been encouraged and supported by many people in her commune. Romdoul believes that although she is paid a low salary by the commune, she is proud of the fact that she can help more people than if she worked in the private sector. In the future, Romdoul wants to be a commune chief. To achieve this, she will try to serve the people in her commune to the best of her ability – especially by helping people navigate the legal system – and to gain their support. This case profile is also available on www.cchrcambodia.org as an audio file and on YouTube as a short video. Produced by: The Project to Promote Women’s Political Representation in Cambodia For more information, please contact us at: Tel: (+855) 23 72 69 01 Email: [email protected] .