Vietnam empowering rural women toward sustainable development

ABO/NDO – Vietnam has been taking active and decisive actions in implementing gender equality policies towards sustainable development goals, with a focus on rural areas, thereby enhancing the empowerment of rural women in all areas of social life.

Illustrative image. Photo: HUU CHI

The assessment was given during a Hanoi policy event this morning on “Empowering Rural Women for Vietnam’s Sustainable Development.” The event was co-organised by the United Nations in Vietnam in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, (MOLISA) and the Vietnam National Committee for the Advancement of Women in commemoration of International Women’s Day (March 8).

In his opening remarks, Doan Mau Diep, Deputy Minister of MOLISA affirmed that the legal framework in Vietnam has been increasingly developed to enhance the empowerment of rural women in all areas. The National Target Programmes on Sustainable Poverty Reduction and Modern Rural Development have focused on vocational training for rural workers to help them escape from poverty and build prosperous families, while saying no to violence, and being advocates for women’s welfare.

Over the past 30 years, the country has achieved remarkable economic growth with a significant contribution from the agriculture sector. According to the General Statistics Office's 2016 report, although agriculture accounted for only 16.3% of Vietnam's GDP, 41.9% of the labour force are engaged in agricultural production. Women constitute a critical workforce in agricultural production, especially in rural areas, where 63.4% of working women are employed in agriculture sector, compared to 57.5% of working men.

However, rural women still face numerous difficulties and challenges. They often work at low-quality, unstable jobs without sustainability, while having little access to social protection services. Their access to productive resources such as land, technology, and financial services is also very restricted.

(Source: NDO)