The mother, as narrator, advises her daughter to maintain peace within the home, walk and talk softly, and obey and respect her husband.
During the Khmer Rouge regime, the Chbab Srey was set aside only to be replaced by more horrible atrocities including wide-scale rape,[4] mass weddings and forced pregnancies.
These include rules such as “Happiness in the family comes from a woman,” “A woman’s poor character results in others looking down upon her husband,” and “Don’t go for a walk to somebody’s house.”[8] According the human rights advocate Kek Galabru, there is a widespread and long-lasting subservience and inferiority of women to men that makes the issue of domestic violence in Cambodia a complex issue.
[9] The traditional Chbab Srey has taught women in Cambodia to be subservient to men and allowed a marital exemption for rape for generations.
Beyond the legal dictates, the Chbab Srey "stifles women’s ability to pursue their own goals and aspirations in life" according to Khmer activist Kounila Keo.