PROUD TO BE WOMAN: SOMALY MAM

March 20th, 2009

We have been celebrating International Women’s Day this week, so to keep the celebration going, we’re continuing our “Proud to be Woman” Conversation Series, where we ask women from around the world what inspires them and what makes them “Proud to be Woman” or PTBW.

Here we chat with Somaly Mam, Cambodian activist and author, who will also be at our IWD event in Los Angeles this Monday. Through the Somaly Mam Foundation, she fights to end human traffiking and give women and children who are victims of slavery a voice.

What inspires you? Women, like Diane von Furstenberg, who come up with phrases like “life is love,” and the Queen of Spain who says that the more you give love, the more you get love, and Petra Nemcova. These women are inspiring to me as well as women who were victims. Women who become strong and find love and laughter again after tragedy.

What makes you proud to be a woman? Women have more patience than men. I am proud of women who have love, caring, kindness, and creativity. Men and women can do everything the same but men can’t give birth, feed milk to babies, and experience motherhood.

What are you celebrating this month? It is a special month that I can celebrate a ceremony for victims and women called Women’s Rights Day. The victims in brothels, women in centers, women reintegrated to society come together in the centers to join this ceremony. That makes me happy because they don’t know that they have the right to celebrate their own lives.

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