Reuters: From Saving a Village to Fighting Aliens, Cambodian Books Show ‘Girls Can Do Anything’

July 13, 2017 — Reuters News highlights The Asia Foundation’s e-book project designed to empower young girls and women. The book series is part of the “Let’s Read!” campaign in Cambodia.

“The availability of original storybooks for children in Khmer is limited. Content related to the empowerment of women is even more scarce,” said Edward Anderson from The Asia Foundation, which is running the project.
 
“The books … can serve as role models for young girls, helping them to break away from traditional subservient expectations and empower them to become leaders,” added Anderson, the acting Cambodia chief for the U.S.-based charity.
 
Although the books are only available in digital format for now, The Asia Foundation said it is working with the Cambodian government and companies to promote them, while it explores the possibility of publishing the books in hard copies to distribute to remote parts of the country.

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