Nation's women still face disadvantages

HCM City (VNA) - Gender equality has improved in Vietnam over the past few years, but attitudes and perceptions are still skewed in favour of the male, expert said at a seminar on April 17.

The two-day seminar, organised by the Ho Chi Minh University of Law, the Swedish
International Development Agency (SIDA) and Sweden 's Lund University ,
focused on "Gender in Society and Legal Education" in Vietnam .

While the gender perspective is stressed in several official documents, it is
considered a burden by some of the staff, noted Ulrika Andersson of the Law
Faculty in Lund University .

Vietnamese and Swedish experts shared views and experiences on ways to improve
gender equality by increasing awareness of the issue in the context of global
integration, the teaching of labour law and adjusting the curriculum to make it
more gender relevant.

Vu Thi Thanh Binh, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Education Trade Union and deputy
head of its Division for Improvement of Women in Education Sector, said compared
with foreign women, Vietnamese women still lacked confidence and management
skills. They were still at a disadvantage in being elected to political office and
the Vietnamese society still expected women to be compliant, she added.

Professor Helle Rydstrom of Lund University said Vietnam was also one of
countries with a long history and influence of Confucianism, feudalism and a
patriarchal society that imposed inequality and disproportionate pressure on women
even today.

She noted that even in cases of domestic violence perpetrated by men, blame was
apportioned to the woman for not managing the situation to prevent it, adding that
60 to 70 percent of divorce cases in Vietnam related to domestic
violence.-Enditem