The Good Daughters of Cambodia

Chbab Srey and Chbab Prohh [8] are the codes of conduct for women and men, respectively, passed down orally by tradition for centuries through the generations until they were written and translated into a poetry form in the 19th century and taught at schools in Cambodia. As of today, the codes of conduct are still parts of secondary school curriculums and instructed informally to young boys and girls. The purpose of the women’s code of conduct is to guide women and girls on how to be “proper women” through instructions on appropriate behaviors in all circumstances. According to participants of this studies, some of the main teachings range from how to respect elders, how to dress, how to talk, how to walk, how to engage with family and society, how to greet people, how to take care of housework and how to distinguish right and wrong. The latest point raises that Chbab Srey has a moral dimension in providing guidance to the “right path”. Indeed a student pointed out that without Chbab Srey “(she) wouldn’t know what it is like to be a proper lady, and how to walk on the right path (…) We wouldn’t know what is right and wrong, black and white and would be easily influenced by bad people.” (women, student, 20 years old) Chbab Srey tends to be associated with Khmer tradition and culture. Indeed, a teacher explained: “it is our Khmer culture, teaching women to follow the ways of tradition (…), for women to prepare and do the household chores, how women should sleep, walk, stand, sit. Women should do all these things consistently and follow the rules in order to be considered a proper Khmer woman.” (man, teacher, 48) 

Yet, the emphasis on morality and the ideal of the “proper woman” as a characteristic of Khmer culture and tradition, can make the code of conduct problematic from a feminist perspective, as it tends to both pressure women and girls to uphold strict rules and shames the ones that fail to abide. Feminists recognize the harmful effects that gender norms have on women and girl’s lives and society at large, which explains why they are critical of the codes of conduct that uphold them.