Mu Sochua is an outspoken activist and a former opposition politician from Cambodia.
The daughter of disappeared Sino Khmer parents, she returned to Cambodia from the US in 1991 to rebuild Cambodia, first by founding Khemara, an NGO for women’s empowerment, and then by joining the FUNCINPEC political party.
Sochua went on to win a seat in Parliament, serving as Minister for Women’s and Veteran’s Affairs from 1998-2004. As the government became increasingly corrupt, Sochua made the decision to step down and join the official opposition, becoming Vice President of Cambodia’s National Rescue Party. In January 2024 she left active politics to be dedicated fully to pro-democracy and human rights civic activism, becoming the first president of the Khmer Movement for Democracy.
She was forced into exile in 2017, after the Cambodian regime threatened her freedom and physical integrity. She is denied return to her homeland, after the government-controlled courts sentenced her and dozen of highly prominent opponents for trumped charges of “rebellion” and “treason.”
