Women with Disabilities Role Model in Siem Reap
“Disability is just physical, but the mindset is not”. said Tan Soren, a 32-year-old woman with disabilities from Prasat Bakong district, Siem Reap province.
Soren has had polio since the age of 4. She has been through countless challenges and barriers including discrimination, emotional and mental harm, and the lack of transportation and supporting facilities. However, Soren chose to be strong and independent, and she learned to ride a bike on her own. Despite those challenges, she decided to pursue high education and get her bachelor’s degree, which made her the only one with higher education among her relative.
In 2020, Soren found Agile and got the opportunity to join the “Amplifying Voices of Young Women with Disability” program. With support from USAID’s WE Act project, Agile Development Group designed and delivered this unique program to train Soren and other women with disabilities to be capable of utilizing ICT and improve decision-making skills in order to have more economic opportunities, and amplify their voices, empowering them to advocate for their rights, their needs, and social justice. After the program Agile trained her up to become a trainer for Amplify voices and also a Chapter Lead for a sustainable network for women with disabilities based in Siem Reap as well.
As a role model and representative of women with disabilities, Soren is committed to bringing the knowledge she has learned to other women with disabilities, especially in technology, and sharing her knowledge of disability so that other women with disabilities become courageous.
Soren advocated for more support to people with disabilities and requested the commune to provide information for them “Please pay more attention to the disability. People with disabilities in remote areas have yet to receive sufficient support. I want more voices of people with disabilities to be heard.”
In collaboration with USAID’s WE Act project, Agile has supported 190 women with disabilities like Saren – ranging from students to entrepreneurs, factory workers, and NGO workers – who joined workshops, and learned how to utilize ICT, build self-confidence, and increase sales and income for their family. They also got the opportunity to join forums where they raised their voice to key policymakers from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Youth, Social Veterans Affairs, and the Disability Action Council. This significantly raised the profile of women with disabilities.
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