 | | | Feature: Tradition traps Vietnamese women |
by Huw Watkin,
Hanoi, (DPA) - Real progress towards gender equality in Vietnam continues to be frustrated by entrenched traditions and the country still has a long way to go before it achieves its Constitutional guarantee of gender equality, women's rights advocates said Wednesday.
As the world celebrates international women's day on Thursday, it's unlikely that many females in Vietnam will have the time to join in festivities.
A recent World Bank study shows that Vietnam's shoulder much of the country's economic burden and those in rural areas work an average 18 hours a day.
That's nearly 8 hours a day more than men and a renewed emphasis in Vietnam on so called "Ho Chi Minh Thought" - and the Constitution he penned in 1946 which stipulates equality in all aspects of life - has left women poorly represented in Vietnam's forums of power.
Only one member of the 18-member Politburo - the ruling Communist Party's executive - is a woman. Although 26 per cent of National Assembly seats are occupied by females, men outnumber women by an average of four to one in administrative positions at the local level.
"While there has been some success with policies regarding women, an underlying Confucian philosophy continues and the social structure remains a vertical hierarchy with men at the top," said one foreign gender specialist.
According to a recent small, but revealing survey, Vietnamese men and women continue to overwhelmingly define a "good" women by her adherence to the so called "four virtues": Hard work, beauty, fidelity and passivity, and by her obedience to fathers, husbands and sons.
"When a Vietnamese woman leaves home and marries, she is still largely expected to surrender her life to her husband. She must do exactly what she is told, she must meet every demand," said one 25- year old woman from Hanoi.
There is, however, evidence of growing dissatisfaction with the sexual status quo. Research by the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union (HWU) shows that young women increasingly pursue higher education and careers outside the home. Also, an increasing number of married women are dumping their husbands.
"I'm very sad to say that one in 10 marriages now ends in divorce and about 80 per cent of those are initiated by women. The main reason is adultery - better economic times has seen more men take mistresses, but wives are not accepting that," said HWU Deputy President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.
But HWU President Nguyen Thi Lap Quoc said the increasing divorce rate was in some ways a positive signal. "Its a sign of more equality. In the past no woman would dare leave here husband because she had no means of supporting herself or her children," she said.
"More women are now willing, and able, to walk away when their marriage goes to hell."
Even though Vietnamese men may soon be facing greater demands from their partners, the slowly changing times are also posing new problems for Vietnamese women.
"I have worked hard to be where I am today and if I get married all that hard work will be wasted," said 24-year-old Huong who manages a Hanoi restaurant and wants to have her own establishment.
"I also want a good husband and a happy family, but don't know how to achieve these things together," she said. |
(2001/03/08,10:34) |
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