柬埔寨政府近日宣布，禁止50岁以上的外籍男子与本国女子结婚，以防止假结婚和贩卖人口等问题。另外，50岁以下的外籍男子若想迎娶柬埔寨女子，还需提供收入证明，月收入不得低于1539英镑。

Cambodia has banned foreign men over the age of 50 marrying local women in an effort to combat sham¹（虚假的） marriages and human trafficking.

Even those overseas men lucky enough to be under the threshold will have to show they earn more than £1,539 a month – many times the average Cambodian wage – before they can tie the knot（结婚） with a Khmer woman.

The new crackdown, which came into force at the beginning of the month, seeks to prevent trafficking of women and sham marriages.

South Korean men in particular seek Cambodian "mail-order brides" set up by agencies. The men travel to Cambodia, meet their prospective² partners and marry a few days later.

The fear in government circles is that the women may be sent into prostitution in their husband's home country or "used as slaves". Koy Kuong, a spokesman for Cambodia's foreign ministry³, said human rights groups had detailed⁴ many such cases.

But another spokesman suggested the government was just as alarmed by how things looked, saying it was not "fitting" to see young Cambodian women consorting⁵ with（陪伴，闲混） aged⁶ foreign men.

The ruling has provoked a mixed reaction as it does not affect Cambodian men or foreign women. Some even say it is discriminatory（有辨识力的） against Cambodian women, despite the effort to protect them from exploitation.

"This is discrimination against women because they will not be allowed to marry men who are over 50 ... while Cambodian men can marry any foreign woman they choose," said Kek Galabru, head of the Licadho human rights group.