📝 OP-ED Gender equality key to family happiness

Hanoi (VNA) – The robust economic growth over the past decades have brought about substantial changes in the society, particularly the traditional family values.

It is of great significance for the society to nurture family values still relevant to the present time for the preservation of the Vietnamese cultural identity, and women play an important role in this regard.

In their many documents, resolutions and policies, the Party and State have persistently declared the family stability is among the decisive factors for the success of Vietnam’s path towards industrialisation, modernisation and socialism.

In its Directive dated June 24, 2021, the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam stated that every family acts as a “cell” of the society to create the next generations, as a place for people’s development and education since early days, for the preservation and promotion of traditional cultures, and for national construction and defence. As the family is key to the country’s sustainable development, it is vital to develop the Vietnamese family values in the new era.

President of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Ha Thi Nga highlighted the promotion of the Vietnamese family values as a task of women, the union and its members. Over the past many years, the VWU and its local chapters have accelerated awareness campaigns for women, and helped enhance their competency and build civilised families.

Better earnings have allowed Vietnamese families to enjoy improved living standards, said Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Hue from the Academy of Journalism and Communications, adding that to make happy and prosperous families, women must be provided with access to funding, employment opportunities and sustainable livelihoods.

For years, the VWU has initiated various projects to support women in developing livelihoods, starting a business, getting out of poverty, and providing education to their children, she noted.

Assoc. Prof, Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thi, Institute for Family and Gender Studies at the Vietnam Academy of Social Studies, emphasised the need to promote gender equality in modern families today, saying it is also fundamental to the happiness of a family.

Vietnamese families, on one hand, preserve ethic traditions and on the other hand are going towards modern values with both husbands and wives seen as breadwinners, she explained. It shows that the Vietnamese families are keeping up with social changes in modern days.

However, a report by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs reveals that gender discrimination and gender-based violence remain rampant in Vietnam and women’s economic power is still far behind men’s. Average time women spend on doing housework is 2.1 times that of men while they spend an equal amount of time on the work in the society.

Equality is decisive to maintaining a happy family, Thi said, as it enables family members to bond through sharing chores every day.

Vietnamese women today are becoming increasingly open-minded about marriage and family and want to liberate themselves from gender stereotypes, she added./.