Human Rights Activist Mu Sochua Speaking in Westport

The Connecticut Council of Vital Voices Global Partnership is proud to welcome Mu Sochua, a Cambodian Parliamentarian who has dedicated her life to empowering women and ending the horrors of child trafficking. As part of the program Vital Voices will present Redlight, a documentary exposing the global issue of human trafficking. 

On Saturday, November 13 Redlight will be shown at the Seabury Center, 45 Church Lane, in Westport.  A dessert reception will be held at 7:30 p.m.  Guests will have an opportunity to meet Mu Sochua and Guy Jacobson, and purchase the work of Cambodian artisans. The film will be featured at 8:00 p.m., followed by a question and answer period with Mu Sochua.

Tickets for the Westport event are $100 for VIP seating and the screening; $30 for all other seats at the screening; and $15 for students.  Tickets are tax-deductible.

Mu Sochua is the most prominent female Member of Parliament in Cambodia and has been an outspoken advocate for human rights for decades. Her personal story is truly inspirational. In 1972, at the age of 18, Mu Sochua's parents put her on a flight out of war-torn Cambodia to protect her from the genocide sweeping the country. That was the last time Sochua saw her parents.

Three years later they were exterminated by the Khmer Rouge. She completed her education in France and the United States and returned to her country in 1991 after 18 years in exile, six of them working with refugees along the Cambodian border.

In 1998 she was appointed the first female Minister for Women's Affairs, a position from which she battled against child abuse, violence against women, the exploitation of women workers and human trafficking. A Member of Parliament since 2008, she has become a leading voice of the opposition against a government that she perceives as a corrupt dictatorship. She was recently threatened with imprisonment for bringing a lawsuit for defamation against the Prime Minister.

Sochua continues to work tirelessly and fearlessly, often at grave personal risk, for equal rights, free speech, government transparency and a fair judicial process. She has been the recipient of many awards, including the Vital Voices Global Partnership 2005 Human Rights and Anti-Trafficking Award and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Proceeds of these events will support Mu Sochua's anti-trafficking and humanitarian work. All contributions, payable to Vital Voices Global Partnership, are tax-deductible. For more information or to order tickets, please contact Roberta Cooper at 203-227-8973 (robertacooper@optonline.net) or Giselle Mazier at 917-816-7515 (gnamazier@mac.com).  Please indicate in your response, and on your check, which event you will attend.  Checks may be sent to Roberta Cooper c/o P.O. Box 3363 Westport, CT 06880.

Vital Voices Global Partnership is an international non-profit organization that identifies, trains and empowers emerging women leaders and entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world for us all.  Vital Voices provides these women with the capacity, connections and credibility they need to unlock their leadership potential. Further information on the extraordinary work of Mu Sochua can be found on the Vital Voices website at www.vitalvoices.org.  The Connecticut Council of Vital Voices was established in 2005 to support the work of Vital Voices and to raise awareness about their many programs.

Connecticut Council steering committee members include Westport residents Roberta Cooper, Avonne Seideman, Elizabeth Strick, Pam Takiff, Lisa Teixeira, Sheila Weiss, and Leslie Greene, and Weston residents Amy Kalafa, Carol Mack, Joyce Thompson and Nancy Wergeles.