Women workers in Cambodia under the COVID pandemic

Focus on the Global South Team | May 7, 2020 |

By Sokunthy Ros*
2 May 2020

As in other countries, COVID-19 has not only shaken Cambodia’s health system, it has also exposed the underlying flaws in the country’s current economic model, which are resulting in livelihood crises for many people. The economic impacts of the pandemic are severe on the working-classes and small businesses, especially women in both formal and informal economic sectors, rural communities, sex and entertainment work, and the garment manufacturing sector.

To date, 122 people are reported to be COVID-19 positive in Cambodia with zero deaths, 120 people cured and returned to their homes, and two patients receiving treatment at the public hospital.[1]Hotels, public schools and universities across the country have been prepared as spaces for both, quarantine and to house COVID-19 patients if needed. The Cambodian Government has issued a number of orders, statements and press-releases almost everyday to prevent the disease from spreading. A law declaring a state of emergency[2] has been approved by the representative of the King (Head of state) on Thursday 30^th April.[3] The provisions of the law have raised numerous concerns among civil society and human rights experts about their legal implications.  Further, the government has taken many actions quickly but without providing protection and damage prevention for those who bear the brunt of the economic impacts.

In full: https://focusweb.org/women-workers-in-cambodia-under-the-covid-pandemic/