Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/stephanie-guyer-stevens/)
Widespread elation met the week-ago release of Aung San Suu Kyi after her 20-year house arrest. But in the political trenches another pro-democracy woman worries about how much leadership Suu Kyi will be able to provide.
As the U.S. changes strategy on Myanmar, Stephanie Guyer-Stevens wonders about what it will mean for the country’s women. Last summer, a young Burmese woman next to her on a plane was afraid to even say the name Aung San Suu Kyi.
Embattled Cambodian lawmaker Mu Sochua faces potentially dangerous fallout from her recent U.S. tour. But she takes home what she calls a promise by Hillary Clinton, an old ally, to investigate the country’s human rights abuses.
When Cambodia’s opposition politician Mu Sochua was given a guilty verdict in early August riot police in Phnom Penh were ready to quell protesters. As part of Sochua’s inner circle that day, Stephanie Guyer-Stevens offers an eyewitness account.
In Cambodia and Burma, Stephanie Guyer-Stevens says two female leaders embody the region’s hopes for democratic reform: Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi, whose extended house arrest drew protest this week, and Cambodia’s Mu Sochua.