Mu Sochua

A few days ago, my friend Charlotte and I were perusing plants at the local greenery shop and we bumped into Mu Sochua, a member of Parliament and well-known Cambodian activist for the National Rescue Party. Charlotte became well-acquainted with her when she photographed her on her campaign trail.

It was no George W. Bush sighting, but I did have a moment of awe. The woman is beautiful and stately and carries herself in a way that commands respect. She will go down in the history books as one of Cambodia's strongest proponents of women's rights. And yet, here she was, at the local plant shop, just casually walking amongst the loquats and elephant ears, and stopping to talk with Charlotte about Charlotte's impending trip to Mount Everest.

My typical enthusiasm for anyone slightly famous was probably subdued by the fact that I had just read an article in which Mu Sochua was asked if she still felt she "had to be careful about pushing a westernized idea of women's empowerment in Cambodia" and her condensed response was, "Even when I was going to 'free' Freedom Park, I rehearsed in my head what I would say so that the message would resonate and be understood, so that I am not thus a crazy, liberal American woman."

Part of me wanted to laugh when I read that (cue visual of hordes of Hobby Lobby protesters) and part of me felt like I needed to defend my mentally ill sister. She might be crazy, but she's still MY sister. 

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about that statement, but in honor of my desire to be gracious, I'll assume the best for now (and regarding graciousness, let's just pretend I didn't yell at those Vietnamese teenagers for cutting in front of me in line today at AEON).

Sigh.

Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll be stately and dignified like Mu Sochua.