Vietnam attaches importance to promoting gender equality: NA leader

The Vietnamese top legislator made the affirmation during a meeting on October 25 with heads of delegations attending the third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW-3) in Hanoi. 

She expressed her belief in the meeting’s success, saying that it would contribute to building ASEAN member nations’ policies  on promoting  and ensuring social welfare for women and girls, towards implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and its sustainable development goals to 2030. 

While briefing the NA leader on the meeting’s agenda, Vietnamese Minister of Labour, War Invalid and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said the theme of the third AMMW focuses on social welfare for women and girls. 

The ministers are scheduled to adopt a joint statement to affirm commitments and orientations in promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment  and ensuring social welfare, thus realizing the common goals of the ASEAN Community by 2025 and implementing the UN Agenda 2030. 

Ngan spoke highly the contents discussed at the meeting, noting that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members have made great strides in enhancing the role of women. 

She stressed that in the framework of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Vietnamese NA has actively been boosting cooperation with parliaments of other AIPA member nations, adding that Vietnam issued laws to promote gender equality, prevent domestic violence and discrimination against women, and enhance gender mainstreaming in national programmes, and supervise the implementation of regulations on gender equality in laws and policies. 

Ngan highlighted Vietnam’s efforts in promoting gender equality and empowerment for women, saying that the gender equality-related issues was noted in the country’s first Constitution in 1946 and this view is consistent throughout all the constitutions of Vietnam and  concretized in several action programmes.

The proportion of female deputies to the 14th NA for the 2016-2021 term is 27.2 percent, 19 percent higher than the average rate in Asia and 21 percent of the global average rate. The NA of Vietnam aims to achieve at least 30 percent of female NA deputies in the coming term.

Vietnam ranks 69 out of 144 countries in terms of narrowing the gap between men and women in all sectors, being one of the 10 best performers in the world in promoting gender equality and empowerment for women and girls, improving the knowledge of girls and increasing the participation of women in the workforce.

Chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Women Remedios I. Rikken expressed her impression for achievements Vietnam has made in the field of gender equality, women's participation in political activities. She also shared some important achievements of the Philippines in the field.

Ngan congratulated the Philippines on the achievements made in three years as it held the chairmanship of AMMW, saying that obstacles and shortcomings in Vietnam and other ASEAN nations make it difficult for women to access resources, participate in the labour market and enjoy social security services.

She expressed her wish that ministers in charge of women issues in ASEAN countries will continue work hard to promote gender equality and empowerment of women; ensuring equal opportunities in terms of education, employment and access to social security towards the common goals of the ASEAN Community 2025 and the UN Agenda 2030.