Vietnam is well aware that gender equality is a basic human right whichis both a national objective and an important factor to thesocio-economic development, National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman TongThi Phong said at a meeting on gender equality in Hanoi on October28.
Chairing the informal discussion group ongender equality, the legislator said the Vietnamese parliament has madegreat efforts in making policies and a legal framework that promote theimplementation of human rights, gender equality and the eradication ofviolence against women. She noted that the 2013 Constitution designated awhole chapter on human rights, including those of women.
Vietnam also issued the Law on Gender Equality, the Law onDomestic Violence Prevention and Control, and a national target ongender equality, she added.
However, she admittedVietnam has not met targets relating to women in elective agencieswhile the number of female NA deputies has decreased over the pastdecade.
In 1997, the country was among the tencountries with the highest percentage of women in parliament. However,it dropped to the 44th place in the world in 2012 with the percentagereducing to under 30 percent. The NA Vice Chairwoman added that therespective targets of 35-40 percent of seats in the NA and localPeople’s Councils occupied by women by 2020 are a real challenge.
Head of Vietnam’s Female NA Deputies Group Truong Thi Mai and VicePresident of the Vietnam Fatherland Font’s Central Committee Vu TrongKim pointed out the fact that voters tend to choose male candidatesinstead of women who have the same qualifications under the impact ofthe deep-rooted preference for men in the country.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Pratibha Mehta spoke highly ofVietnam’s attention to gender equality, which is manifested in therealisation of the UN Millennium Goal on reducing maternal and childfatality, the clear improvement of women’s educational level, and thecountry’s high commitment to carrying out the UN Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Pratibha Mehta, who co-chairs the Informal Ambassadors and Heads ofAgencies Coordination Group on Gender, suggested Vietnam include thepercentage of women in elective agencies in its laws.
Vietnamese and foreign participants proposed measures to raise thenumber of women winning elections such as raising local officials’awareness of the role of women, improving the capacity and the number offemale candidates, and encouraging women to vote in elections.-VNA
Chairing the informal discussion group ongender equality, the legislator said the Vietnamese parliament has madegreat efforts in making policies and a legal framework that promote theimplementation of human rights, gender equality and the eradication ofviolence against women. She noted that the 2013 Constitution designated awhole chapter on human rights, including those of women.
Vietnam also issued the Law on Gender Equality, the Law onDomestic Violence Prevention and Control, and a national target ongender equality, she added.
However, she admittedVietnam has not met targets relating to women in elective agencieswhile the number of female NA deputies has decreased over the pastdecade.
In 1997, the country was among the tencountries with the highest percentage of women in parliament. However,it dropped to the 44th place in the world in 2012 with the percentagereducing to under 30 percent. The NA Vice Chairwoman added that therespective targets of 35-40 percent of seats in the NA and localPeople’s Councils occupied by women by 2020 are a real challenge.
Head of Vietnam’s Female NA Deputies Group Truong Thi Mai and VicePresident of the Vietnam Fatherland Font’s Central Committee Vu TrongKim pointed out the fact that voters tend to choose male candidatesinstead of women who have the same qualifications under the impact ofthe deep-rooted preference for men in the country.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Pratibha Mehta spoke highly ofVietnam’s attention to gender equality, which is manifested in therealisation of the UN Millennium Goal on reducing maternal and childfatality, the clear improvement of women’s educational level, and thecountry’s high commitment to carrying out the UN Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Pratibha Mehta, who co-chairs the Informal Ambassadors and Heads ofAgencies Coordination Group on Gender, suggested Vietnam include thepercentage of women in elective agencies in its laws.
Vietnamese and foreign participants proposed measures to raise thenumber of women winning elections such as raising local officials’awareness of the role of women, improving the capacity and the number offemale candidates, and encouraging women to vote in elections.-VNA
