The Vietnamese Government has always attached importance to building anddeveloping policies and programmes to promote gender equality andensure women’s rights.
National Assembly Vice ChairwomenTong Thi Phong told a seminar on ethnic women and development issuesrecently held by the United Nations in Vietnam that the country’sfirst Constitution in 1946 already endows all citizens, men or womenalike, with equal rights in all aspects.
By now, genderequality and women’s rights have been institutionalised in a range oflegal documents such as the Law on Election of National AssemblyDeputies, the Law on Election of Deputies to People’s Councils, the Lawon Gender Equality and the Law on Marriage and Family, she said.
The legislator further said Vietnam is one of the first countriesto sign and ratify the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at an early date and haveintegrated its regulations in the country’s laws.
Shehighlighted Vietnam’s major achievements in the promotion of women’srights such as the issuance of regulations and rules on gender equalityand non-discrimination in line with the 2006 Law on Gender Equality andthe CEDAW.
The country has also launched a national strategyon gender equality for the 2011-2020 period with the aim of raisingawareness, narrowing gender gap and enhancing women’s position, shesaid.
According to the lawmaker, Vietnam has activelyimplemented international and regional initiatives in efforts to pushfor the protection of women’s rights and fight discrimination againstwomen.
Last year, the NA passed the revised Labour Law to extend maternity leave from four to six months, she said.
The Vietnamese Government has completed a periodic report on theimplementation of the Convention during the 2004-2010 period based onconsultations with relevant agencies and organisations and people of allsocial strata.
According to Vietnam ’s national reporton human rights submitted under the UN Human Rights Council’s UniversalPeriodic Review, the national strategy on gender equality and women’sprogress has come to regions and areas which see high inequality orpotential risks of inequality.
The move has helped preventand drive back women trafficking and domestic violence while creatingconditions for women to improve their knowledge.
TheGovernment has deployed solutions in terms of law enforcement andinternational cooperation to surpass challenges regarding the awarenessabout gender equality, and eliminate gender and domestic violence aswell as gender gaps of employment, income and social position.
With women accounting for 24.4 percent of deputies in the 13thNational Assembly (2011-2016), Vietnam ranks 43rd out of 143countries globally and second in the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN).
Women have assumed many key leading postssuch as Vice President, Vice National Assembly Chairperson and Minister.In addition, 14 out of 30 ministries or Government-affiliated agencieshave female deputy ministers.
Many women are holding keypositions in local administrations, contributing to handling importantissues, Doan said, adding that women have shined in other areas such asbusiness, education and healthcare.
Presently, femaleworkers make up 49 percent. By the end of 2011, female literacy was 92percent and about 80 percent of girls at remote, far-flung and ethnicregions go to school at the right age.
Thanks to suchefforts, Vietnam was placed 47th out of 187 countries in the UN’sGender Inequality Index last year compared with its 58 th position outof 136 countries recorded in 2010.
However, Vietnam isstill faced with an array of challenges such as low percentage of ethnicwomen involving in leadership at all levels and high poverty rate amongminority groups.
The government will continue working toraise public awareness of gender equality while strengtheninginternational cooperation in dealing with gender inequality, especiallyamong disadvantaged groups and in strategic realms such as education,healthcare and employment.-VNA
National Assembly Vice ChairwomenTong Thi Phong told a seminar on ethnic women and development issuesrecently held by the United Nations in Vietnam that the country’sfirst Constitution in 1946 already endows all citizens, men or womenalike, with equal rights in all aspects.
By now, genderequality and women’s rights have been institutionalised in a range oflegal documents such as the Law on Election of National AssemblyDeputies, the Law on Election of Deputies to People’s Councils, the Lawon Gender Equality and the Law on Marriage and Family, she said.
The legislator further said Vietnam is one of the first countriesto sign and ratify the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at an early date and haveintegrated its regulations in the country’s laws.
Shehighlighted Vietnam’s major achievements in the promotion of women’srights such as the issuance of regulations and rules on gender equalityand non-discrimination in line with the 2006 Law on Gender Equality andthe CEDAW.
The country has also launched a national strategyon gender equality for the 2011-2020 period with the aim of raisingawareness, narrowing gender gap and enhancing women’s position, shesaid.
According to the lawmaker, Vietnam has activelyimplemented international and regional initiatives in efforts to pushfor the protection of women’s rights and fight discrimination againstwomen.
Last year, the NA passed the revised Labour Law to extend maternity leave from four to six months, she said.
The Vietnamese Government has completed a periodic report on theimplementation of the Convention during the 2004-2010 period based onconsultations with relevant agencies and organisations and people of allsocial strata.
According to Vietnam ’s national reporton human rights submitted under the UN Human Rights Council’s UniversalPeriodic Review, the national strategy on gender equality and women’sprogress has come to regions and areas which see high inequality orpotential risks of inequality.
The move has helped preventand drive back women trafficking and domestic violence while creatingconditions for women to improve their knowledge.
TheGovernment has deployed solutions in terms of law enforcement andinternational cooperation to surpass challenges regarding the awarenessabout gender equality, and eliminate gender and domestic violence aswell as gender gaps of employment, income and social position.
With women accounting for 24.4 percent of deputies in the 13thNational Assembly (2011-2016), Vietnam ranks 43rd out of 143countries globally and second in the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN).
Women have assumed many key leading postssuch as Vice President, Vice National Assembly Chairperson and Minister.In addition, 14 out of 30 ministries or Government-affiliated agencieshave female deputy ministers.
Many women are holding keypositions in local administrations, contributing to handling importantissues, Doan said, adding that women have shined in other areas such asbusiness, education and healthcare.
Presently, femaleworkers make up 49 percent. By the end of 2011, female literacy was 92percent and about 80 percent of girls at remote, far-flung and ethnicregions go to school at the right age.
Thanks to suchefforts, Vietnam was placed 47th out of 187 countries in the UN’sGender Inequality Index last year compared with its 58 th position outof 136 countries recorded in 2010.
However, Vietnam isstill faced with an array of challenges such as low percentage of ethnicwomen involving in leadership at all levels and high poverty rate amongminority groups.
The government will continue working toraise public awareness of gender equality while strengtheninginternational cooperation in dealing with gender inequality, especiallyamong disadvantaged groups and in strategic realms such as education,healthcare and employment.-VNA
