Cambodian women say 'no' to law on dress code

Many Cambodians still expect women to be submissive and quiet, a legacy of the Chbap Srey - an oppressive code of conduct for women that the United Nations said last year should be "fully eliminated" from schools. Filepic

A proposed law that would let Cambodian police fine people deemed to be dressed inappropriately could be used to curtail women's freedoms and reinforce a culture of impunity around sexual violence, rights campaigners say.

The draft legislation, which will take effect next year if approved by several government ministries and the national assembly, would ban men from going out shirtless and stop women from wearing anything "too short" or "too see-through."