Equality from the perspective of ethnic minority youth

Hanoi (VNA) It is not easy to recognize existing gender prejudices and gender stereotypes.

“Since childhood, my parents and grandparents always said that a boy must be strong, must be successful and not be inferior to anyone because later on, a man will be the pillar of the family. I used to find it true.”

 “I myself used to believe that a girl would be more skillful and careful than a boy.”

“Having grown up, girls just get married and perform the role of wife and mother. So everyone thinks that girls should choose an easy job in order to spend time with their families.”

Those are three of the very sincere thoughts shared by 40 ethnic minority youths in Van Ho district, Son La province. As they grow up in families and communities with such beliefs, such thoughts gradually become deeply ingrained in their mind. This unintentionally causes them to maintain and reinforce biased, negative assessments of male or female’s characteristics, positions, roles and abilities (gender prejudice) as well as social expectations and imposition on the roles, status, and behaviors of men and women (gender stereotype).

Feeling like something is wrong but not knowing what to do and not believing that oneself can change it

After finishing 9th grade, LTV, like many other girls, was advised that: "That’s enough study for a girl, now you just stay home and get married". V feels very sad and resentful about that. Her dream is to continue to study further to gain knowledge and have the opportunity to do the work that she dreams of. However, V. doesn't know how to persuade her family to support her plans and ambitions.

 Meanwhile, MPHM and SAH shared about domestic violence they have witnessed, and the uncomfortable and unfair emotions they have experienced. They vaguely recognized the consequences of domestic violence on individuals, families and society, especially children. There were many times they wanted to intervene and support the victims but didn't know where to start. And most importantly, like many other young people, MPHM and SAH have not yet believed that they can contribute to eliminating gender inequality in general and domestic violence in particular.

When seeing her cousin commit suicide because she couldn't stand the mental and physical abuse from her husband, LQH really regretted that she and her family did not timely protect and support her.

Let's start today!

The training course "Youth and gender equality" took place from April 4-6, 2023 in Van Ho district, the northern mountainous province of Son La. It was organized by the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF) and Van Ho Department of Education and Training. This is the first time the 40 participating young people have got to know some basic concepts related to equality and gender equality, as well as identified existing gender stereotypes and norms in themselves, family and community. They have understood that a person's abilities and qualities are completely independent of his or her gender, and all people are equal.
 

HDH shared, “In the past, I thought gender equality was only for the benefit of women. Now I understand that gender equality brings benefits and happiness to not only women but also men.”

They together discussed and selected four gender inequality issues that young people are very concerned about and want to solve in their locality. These are domestic violence, child marriage, child sexual abuse, and male preference/desire to have a son.

Through experiential exercises and activities of collecting, synthesizing and analyzing information about the causes and consequences of each problem, as well as the role of adolescents and young people, they have realized that “Every change must start today.”

LQH shared, “The training helped me realize that when facing a domestic violence case, we need to speak up and seek help from the local authority and the community, not just keep quiet and watch.”

Many other solutions were also proposed by the ethnic minority youth, who also discussed the plans to implement those solutions in both the short and long term. For example, after participating in the training, they will share in their own classrooms and communities about identifying and eliminating gender bias and gender stereotypes; about the consequences of child marriage, sexual abuse, and domestic violence and the mindset of valuing men above women. They are also aware that they must be the first to change and need to start today, before going to persuade other young people and the community to change together.

“Let's start from today” is also the message of the seminar "Equality from the perspective of young people", organized by VSF and the Van Ho Department of Education and Training after the training course. The seminar had the participation of 40 ethnic minority youths and 21 young journalists and communication officers from VTV, VTC, VOV, the newspapers of Tien Phong, Dan Viet, Labor, and Family Vietnam magazine and development projects.

 The seminar was an opportunity to strengthen the voice, participation and connection between young people and young journalists, communication officers, thereby spreading stories and good practices in promoting equality in general and gender equality in particular. At the seminar, journalists and communication officers were strongly inspired by the creativity and enthusiasm of the ethnic minority youths through displays on each prominent gender issue. On the contrary, the young delegates from 14 communes of Van Ho district also received a lot of comments and positive energy from the reporters and media officers. For example, instead of sharing about sexual abuse prevention with only children from 12-15 years old, they were advised to talk to even younger children. Or when it comes to preventing domestic violence cases, the most important thing is to ensure their own safety by asking for timely support from the parties involved.

Deputy Director of VSF Tran Hong Diep noted: “As a social, non-profit organization with the mission to promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goals of equality, education, health and environment, we always believe in the ability of young people to change and pioneer in solving social problems. As the facilitator of both the training course and the seminar, I am really happy that the young people have specific and feasible solutions to eliminate gender stereotypes and gender norms in themselves, family and their communities. In the near future, VSF will continue to accompany them so that these initiatives can be implemented in practice.”

The training course "Youth and gender equality" and the seminar “Equality from the perspective of young people'' are two out of six activities of the "No voice, no equal future" project, organized by VSF with financial support from the US Embassy from October 2022. Besides, the project’s budget is contributed from the profit of the sale of mooncakes under  a fundraising programme named "Moon of Hope" in 2021.

The project has the participation and technical advice of 3 alumni members of academic and professional exchange programmes funded by the US Government: Tran Hong Diep – Deputy Director of VSF; Nguyen Phuong Chi, Deputy Head of Department of International Cooperation and Scientific Management, Vietnam Women's Academy; and Hoang Thi Huong - Gender Activist and Founder of Toha Coffee.

Information about VSF's activities in general and about the "No voice, no equal future" project in particular will be regularly updated on VSF's website and fanpage, at  https://vitamvocviet.vn/ and Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/quyvitamvocviet