
PHNOM PENH -- Sou Sotheavy has been sitting for barely 30 minutes when she lights a third cigarette, apparently unconcerned about the recent heart problems she has suffered.
"In 1978, I was forced to get married to a woman," recalls 77-year-old Sotheavy between puffs as she talked at a coffee shop in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The wedding was a biological and psychological clash: Sotheavy is a transgender woman (having since transitioned from male to female). She is also a survivor.