KAMPONG CHHNANG: Prime Minister Hun Sen called for an end to discrimination against women working in the entertainment industries such as karaoke bars and night clubs. He noted that some of these women are involved in humanitarian work as well.

Speaking to nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Chhnang province this morning, the PM said that the government monitors all industries, and that women in the nightlife and tourism sectors are no exception. He then announced the establishment of the Association to Protect Women to focus on issues that face this group specifically. He designated the wives of each provincial governor as chairmen of the association, saying, "Putting the wives as the heads of the women working in the entertainment industries is to keep them from being jealous of their husbands.”

During the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Cambodian People's Party at the National Palace on January 7, the PM introduced a policy to keep female service industry workers protected during working hours. The Royal Government also introduced the possibility of providing lawyers to protect women working in the field of entertainment services and to provide them with social security benefits as well.