- Gender issues tend to differ a bit on the urban/rural divide, but women are still seen primarily as caretakers and homemakers although it is beginning to change.
- Women generally marry younger then men and are expected to be virgins.
- If a family needs help running a family business or a home, a daughter, especially the youngest daughter, may stop studying at school to take on this role.
- In the countryside, there are woman teachers, doctors, market vendors, business people, but there is still a pervasive traditionalist view of gender roles.
- Because women are expected to be the primary caretakers and homemakers, they are also responsible for managing the money of the household and the education of the children. They are expected to attend public social functions, and married women may sometimes go alone to represent their families at gatherings.
- While young Cambodian men have some social independence, young Cambodian women do not often go out socially unescorted, especially at night.
- Expectations seem to be different for foreign women, and although a foreign woman exercising her independence may not be well understood by some Cambodians, it will probably be respected.
- Smoking is generally acceptable for men, but not for women. For women, smoking seems to be associated with prostitution. The same goes for drinking, although at large social gatherings, for example weddings, women may drink with men.
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