Women Awareness

Before reading "The Road of Lost Innocence", I was unaware of any of the prostitution activity happening around the world especially in Cambodia. Most of the western countries ignore foreign problems such as prostitution. This autobiography has so many unbelievable tragedies that it is hard to believe that is a true story. I learned a little more on the internet and found out that there are about 10,000 to 20,000 women who are prostitutes in Cambodia. An amazing fact is that 35% of them are under the age of eighteen. Also about 87% of men in Cambodia are consumers of prostitution.

Mam's autobiography has a different view of what the other novels in the class have had. This is the first time us readers are able to look into the eyes of women. In the other novels we see what value women have to men. Somaly Mam let's the reader see what it is like to be a woman who is manipulated by man. Also unlike the other novels, this novel shows the main character triumphing from oppression. In the other novels the characters go through war and some of the worst conditions of mankind but are not able to recondition after war. Even though Somaly was traumatized, she is the only character out of all the novels who has not dwelled on her past. She made something out of her hard past and helped others who are just like her and also built awareness around the world.

http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/cambodia.htm