Women Activists Jailed for Obstructing Traffic
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We read about stuff happening in different corners of the world, and where this stuff concerns women, we can’t help being interested. Women are given a raw deal in many parts of the world and our hearts go out to those who try in their own ways to fight injustice and better their circumstances, which is just what these seven women activists in Cambodia where doing when they got arrested and sentenced to one year in jail.
Their homes had been flooded and they had nowhere to stay.Their entire neighbourhood was flooded and so to protest that and draw attention to their plight, they placed a bed in the middle of the road. The bed was dragged off the road by security guards while the women were arrested and charged to court for obstructing traffic. The Judge gave them the highest sentence for that crime, which is one year imprisonment.
According to the news piece:
The stunt was meant to draw attention to the repeated flooding of their Boeng Kak homes, which they ascribe to the filling in of a local lake for a development project backed by CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin. The protesters complained that their homes had been inundated with fetid water for days, and were demanding that the city clear the surrounding drains immediately.
They felt aggrieved and took their grievance to the City Hall and were put in jail for their trouble. According to a member of the rights group to which the women belong:
“They were just exercising their rights under the Constitution, which guarantees the people’s health,”
“The state’s development project caused the flooding, so the authorities are responsible for finding a solution for them.”
As the women were being questioned, four more people were arrested outside the courthouse while protesting peacefully for their release.
It seems crazy to read about things like this and it helps us appreciate the freedom we have as Nigerians. We sincerely hope that this women don’t get to spend the entire year in jail and that their government does something about the consistent flooding of their homes soon.
News source: The Cambodian Daily
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