Every day Roeung Sorphy deftly weaves through the streets of Siem Reap, zigzagging past cars, motorbikes and the occasional stray dog as she shepherds tourists to Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat temple complex.
But on the road to joining the small number of women tuk-tuk drivers in the country, the 37-year-old has to dodge not only other road users but also a barrage of taunts, misogyny and prejudice.
Cambodia has taken legal and practical steps towards gender equality, but it remains a conservative, patriarchal society. Women are expected to run the home and family rather than seek paid work.
It was tough when Roeung Sorphy, who goes by the nickname Sopy, first took to the streets.
“At first, they [male drivers] looked down on me … They said we women should stay at home and clean dishes,” she said, describing how she was verbally harassed and assaulted when competing for fares.
“But we keep persevering,” she said after she finished cleaning her tuk-tuk, lovingly decorating it with blooming white lotuses.
Sopy got her start after borrowing $3,000 to buy her tuk-tuk, and has now been driving through the shaded roads of Angkor Park for more than three years.
“We cannot just rely on husbands,” she said, urging more women to join the profession.
“We will be strong like men,” said Sopy, whose husband is also a tuk-tuk driver.
She charges about $15 per passenger for a tour around Angkor, a sprawling UNESCO World Heritage site.
After years, her male colleagues have finally accepted her.
“We have won their hearts, they’ve stopped discriminating against us. They think we are the same.”
“I love the job. I think all women can do it.”
