Institute of Social Studies, Economics and Environment Pham Quynh Phuong Gender, Empowerment and Development Gender relations from the perspective of ethnic minorities in Vietnam TRAO QUYỀN HAYTRAO CHIA SẺ? Suh ĩ lại GALFKgagjlquaười dân tộc thiểu số Việt Nam Phạm Quỳnh P Hanoi, 01/2012 Abbreviations: ADB Asian Development Bank GE Gender Equality MOLISA Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs CEMA Committee of Ethnic Minorities EM Ethnic Minorities GAD Gender And Development GDI Gender Development Index IDRC International Development Research Centre of Canada iSEE Institute for Social Studies, Economics and Environment UN United Nations NG National Goal NGO Non-Governmental Organization VWU Vietnam Women’s Union UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO Organization United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural WB World Bank WID Women in Development Acknowledgements The author expresses her gratitude for the sincere contribution and hospitality of people in EM communities that have been mentioned in the report Without their help, this report certainly would not have been completed The author would also like to thank the field assistance from colleagues Hoang Cam, Le Kim Sa, Nguyen Quang Thuong and Nguyen Thu Huong at different times and locations within iSEE’s research programs on ethnic stereotypes, the consequences of prejudice, surveillance evaluation for program 30A, and research on cacao trees In particular, the author acknowledges the valuable suggestions from Le Quang Binh and Luong Minh Ngoc to help complete this report This report is the initial result of research on gender concepts in a number of ehnic minority groups in 2011, implemented by the Institute of Social Studies, Economics and Environment, with funding from Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) Even though the author has put in great efforts to accomplish the research objectives, this report might still exhibit limitations and shortcomings The author looks forward to receiving your suggestions in order to improve further researches in the future TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter I RESEARCH BACKGROUND…………… ………………………………………6 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………….6 Gender access and discourse on gender inequality in ethnic minority areas.…………… Analytical framework……………… ………………………………………………… 11 Areas and research methods…………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter II PERSPECTIVES AND GENDER RELATIONS OF EM………………………16 Gender roles and division of labor ……………………………………………….16 Perception on “Equality”……………………………………………………………… 16 Labor distribution: women many light chores, men a few heavy works……… 19 Following natural and common sense……………………………………………………22 Accessing and increasing income……… …………… ……………………… 25 Income increase does not necessarily change positions ……… ………………………25 “A good husband gets to manage the money”…… 31 Participation and decision-making ……………………………………………….33 Not attending meetings does not mean not having rights.……………………………….33 Nobody makes decisions on his own… …………………………………………… 35 Administrative role does not reflect the actual role…………………………………… 36 Chapter III EMPOWERMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF WOMEN’S SELFDETERMINATION AND POSITION……………………………………………………….…38 The topic of self-determination: selecting and making decisions……………………….39 Status of EM women in traditional practices and contemporary society.……………… 45 CONCLUSION………….………………………………………………………………………49 APPENDIX…………………… ………………………………… …………………………….51 REFERENCES…………………….…………………………… …………………………… 54 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………… 56 Page List of box titles Box 1: The total population of related EM groups………………………………………14 Box 2: The population of EM groups in the inspected provinces……………………….14 Box 3: The perception of equality………………………………… ………………… 16 Box 4: Leaving wife the light chores (men’s point of view)………… ……………… 19 Box 5: Husband does heavy works so less is fine (women’s point of view)……… … 21 Box 6: The standards for gender roles………………… ……………………………….22 Box 7: Overview of the Dao ethnic group…….…………………………………………27 Box 8: The tradition of living at the wife’s house…… ……………………………… 29 Box 9: Who manages the household’s expenses……………………………………… 31 Box 10: Not participating but still discussing………………………………………… 34 Box 11: Nobody makes decisions on his own ………………………………………….35 Box 12: Overview of the M’nong ethnic group………………… …………………….40 Box 13: The Lu people in Sin Ho……….……….………………………………………41 CHAPTER RESEARCH BACKGROUND Introduction In recent years, the issue of gender equality has been a particularly interested and intergrated topic in the socio-economic development strategies in EM areas Besides the lack of resources and the limited access to education, health care, services, markets, the phenomenon of gender inequality is considered as one of the causes of poverty (World Bank 2009) However, several reports also reveal that development programs not pay adequate attention to the issue of gender inequality (ADB 2006), or make assumptions that poverty reduction and income growth can increase the status for women The Gender and Development approach (GAD) proposed by developmental organizations often puts the concept of empowerment, increasing power or enhancing position in the center, associating the gender and empowerment issues to poverty reduction The efforts for “empowerment,” “increased power,” “enhancing position” show the developers’ belief that if women are more involved and have better ability to access, they will be able to reach equality and the burden will be lifted off their shoulders Empowerment, therefore, has become a common term and also a measure of success for a development program (CCIHP & Oxfam Novib 2011) This effort, however, is based on outsiders’ assumptions as well as the existing analytical framework for rights and equality from the West (see Appendix) From a development point of view, it is obvious that behind the gender approaches and interventions, there are implications that women should be considered as the ones needing help to reduce poverty, they have no rights, no gender equality, no opportunities and no choices Helping the women out of poverty, generating and improving incomes, empowering, and putting a woman on the same level with her husband, as well as liberating her from all social constraints become the goals for gender equality issues This is demonstrated clearly in the discourse on poverty and gender equality Being aware of the limitations of imposed interpretation, many development organizations see the need to understand the EM’s perception on gender inequality, then build programs that are more gender sensitive (CEMA UNICEF 2009) Our study aims to, through an anthropological approach, start discovering the EM’s perception on gender practice, as well as the criteria for empowerment and equality for women, and explain the cultural basis for these perspectives Gender access and discourse on gender inequality in EM areas Among social and cultural issues, gender and gender equality are two of the most interesting topics even though “gender,” “gender approach” “feminism” are new concepts that Vietnamese policy makers and researchers just started to approach in the 80s of the last century From the theory which originated in the West, based on the popularity and characteristics of society in Vietnam, after thirty years, the Gender studies in our country have had an extensive progress of formation and development, greatly influencing not only the views and policies of the Party and the State but also the entire social practices Starting from the basic points of view: liberating women was one of the most important objectives of the Vietnamese revolution, the right to gender equality was affirmed in the first Constitution in 1946, and also in 1980, Vietnam became the th country in the world to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Along with the promulgation of the legal system on family related to gender (Marriage and Family Law of 1959, 1986, 2000 and the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence of 2007), the State has legislated the Right to Gender Equality, and this law has officially taken effect since 2006 The National Committee for the Advancement of Women from State to local levels has been established and consolidated by Decision 1855/QĐ-TTg (11/11/2009) The National Strategy on Gender Equality with specific program objectives for each period of years, 10 years, along with the clearly formed Gender Development Index on State and local levels hold important roles in directing activities towards gender equality practices For example, the National Target Programme for the period 2011-2015 mentions: creating strong shift in awareness, striving to significantly tighten the gender gap, improving the position of women in a number of key sections and areas with an existing gender inequality problem or high risk of gender inequality Also in 2009, the Government implemented the regulations on presenting annual reports to National Assembly on the status of executing the NG of gender equality.3 In conclusion, in recent years, the issue of gender equality has been considered as a thoroughly understood content and goal under the leadership of the Party, National Assembly’s legislation as well as the direction of the Government structure In the scientific aspect, there is a growing number of research and education centers on gender in our country The Vietnamese Government’s commitment to the international community towards the goal of Gender equality has attracted significant supports from international organizations, not only in terms of financial and technical means through projects, but also a whole system of modern knowledge and scientific analysis tools in gender approach.4 03 Decrees guiding the implementation of the Gender Equality Law was also launched in 2008 and 2009 (Decree No 70/2008/NĐ-CP (4/6/2008); Decree No 48/2009/NĐ-CP (19/5/2009); Decree No 55/2009/NĐ-CP (10/6/2009)) National Strategy on Gender Equality 2011-2012 has been approved by the Prime Minister on 24/12/2010 On 8/5/2009, the Government issued Report No 63/BC-CP on the implementation of gender equality objectives to send the National Assenly delegates at the 5th National Assembly session XII Supporting and coorperating with the Vietnamese government, UN organizations also conducted a number of studies on various aspects of gender equality in Vietnam Some reent reports and research projects of the UN include: Report on Vietnam Job Trends in 2010 (ILO), showing the increasing situation of gender inequality in employment in Vietnam; Summary analysis of gender indicators in the population and housing census of Vietnam in 2009 (UNFPA), indicating the alarming status of growing gender imbalance in Vietnam; Gender issues in migration (IOM) pointing out the differences in the amount of money sent home by migrants, male and female, as well as measures to reduce the risk of money deposits, strengthen financial management information and improve remittance services to be In the Political thesis of 1930, the first official document of the Communist Party of Vietnam to discuss gender issues, gender was addressed from the perspective of women’s liberation With the recognition that women were being imprisoned by the “three cangues and stocks or chains, which were Confucianism, colonialism and patriarchalism” (VWU, 1989), the Party advocated to fight for liberating them from the oppression of the feudal society, bourgeois ideology and the patriarchy system This point of view dominated a relatively long historical period of the national liberation war and the country’s recovery after the war During the Doi moi period, Vietnam begun to reach out to new gender approach models derived from the Western movements and theories of feminism, notably the Women in Development (WID), and Gender and Development (GAD).5 These approaches emphasize gender equality, poverty reduction, bring benefits to women, and empower them Gender equality and gender inequality in Vietnam are considered the universal problems, not related to religion and ethnicity, reflected in the fact that in 1981, the civil rights of ethnic minorities were included in the law, but until now, there have not been any mention of decrees or laws specifically to gender issues in the minority community Instead, there are only some indexes of percentage of women in several areas of life In the recently published National Gender Development Statistics Quota, all quotas calculated in numbers are combined without analyzing specific problems of different ethnic groups.6 The approaches to gender issues in EM areas in Vietnam, however, are exhibited quite clearly through the discourse on gender inequality of ethnic minorities Several researches, the media, and the reports of development often present the images of EM women as the victims of inequality, of being undervalued, of having “a low status,” and therefore, “if we cannot raise the inferior position of women nowadays in the family and community, the objective of sustainable rural development in our country will not succeed” (Dang Canh Khanh and Le Thi Quy 2007:464) Researches on gender in a deveopment point of view also reason “minimal access to resourses, poor ability to generate income as well as no decision-making voice in important aspects of family life lead to the women’s lower social and economic status comparing to men’s (Do Thi Binh, 1996, Do Thi Binh and Tran Thi Van Anh 2003…) Follow is one specific study on more effective for migrants, increase access to finance for rural workers, especially women; Tourism, gender and ethnic minorities (UNESCO) presenting opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in the ethnic-diverse highlands, promoting the increase of cultural sensitivity and the awareness of decision makers and policy implementators of all levels, strengthening the voice and representation of the community, especially of women at a local level; Project VIE/90/W01 (UNIFEM & Institute for Family and Gender): Approach in the study of gender-responsive policies; Project Improving research ability on gender, aiming to a sustainable development (IDRC) While WID puts the issues for women in a relatively isolated position, the GAD approach pays more attention to the social relationship between men and women, emphasizing the development model and the benefits of both sexes The Quota system was issued on 14/10/2011, signed by the Prime Minister, with effect from 1/12/2011 There are 105 targets in this National Quota, but only one target (number 30) mentions the ethnic minority area (percentage of women in poor rural areas, EM groups have needs to borrow preferential loans from employment and poverty alleviation programs and formal sources of credit) this issue From one case study of gender relations in Son La and Lai Chau, researchers suggest that gender inequality is tightly associated with underdevelopment: “in parallel with the underdevelopment of economic situation comes the underdevelopment of society including gender inequality,” which exhibits through “the unreasonable division of labor between men and women,” “women almost never get to attend festivals or weddings and funerals in their mountain villages” (while the men “do nothing for the whole month but attending weddings and funerals”), “the women are not allowed to join guests for a meal but have to eat in the kitchen,” “victims of many forms of domestic violence…, are beaten and abused,” “women are those who get more access to resources than men, but own less control over these resources,” etc With the stereotypes on ethnic groups’ culture, the authors believe that the policies on gender equality in Son La and Lai Chau meet many difficulties because “there exists a greater barrier combined of a closed subsistence economy and long preserved traditions” The ideology, according to the authors, is due to the strong influence of Confucianism on EM groups, and “the level of dependency of women relies on the level of development as well as the traditions of each ethnic group,” therefore, “the social status of the H’Mong women is much more inferior than the status of the Thai women” (Dang Canh Khanh and Le Thi Quy, 2007:435-439) The discourse on development also identifies gender inequality as the key issue for poverty and other problems of inequaly Over the last two decades, a number of international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations and other development organizations, etc emphasize the relationship between gender inequality and poverty and violence The gender inequalities for women when it comes down to opportunity, the right to express oneself, and the entitlement to make decisions at home and in society are also considered as the reasons exacerbating their poverty (Schech, Susanne and Vas Dev 2007).7 The World Bank report even highlights the differences in property access, the capability and the voice of EM women compared to their men’s along with the language and culture barriers as main factors for the existing gender inequality situation in EM areas nowadays (WB 2009) The discourse on poverty by World Bank has established its own fulcrum by presenting two main attributes of poor women: “voiceless” and “powerless,” in addition to “vulnerability” (related to illness, material exhaustion, natural disaster, violence, etc.) The report by the Poverty Alleviation Active Group of the Government, donors and NGOs (2000) emphasizes that the major problems of EM women include “a heavy workload, limited right to make decisions in the family… domestic violence stays at a high level while the ability to access education and knowledge continues to be at a low level.” The document Review of World Situation (2002) by the United Nations in Vietnam confirms that “EM women often suffer from the effects of poverty more than men because women not have the right to decide, achieve lower level of education, receive fewer opportunities, and all of these factors make them the poorest of the poor.” Although even accounted for 13% of the population, the poverty rate among ethnic IThe process of identifying poverty, according to WB, does not only rely on income, the amount of foods consumed, and the illiteration situation, but also the factors of vulnerability and powerless (WDR 2000/01) minorities is much greater than that of the Kinh and Hoa people.8 The Analysis report of gender situation in Vietnam pays attention to the issue of EM women and young girls lagging behind EM men in the fields of accessing health care services, education and economic opportunities (ADB 2006) The report Analyzing National Society: Ethnicity and Development in Vietnam points out that: “Cultural rules continue to put EM women in a secondary position in the community and the women maintain to be disadvantaged in all areas, from accessing sources of production and agriculturestimulative services to health care and education” (WB 2009:47) Examining gender from a tourism point of view, a recent study by UNESCO (Tourism, gender and ethnic minorities) on the Dao, H’Mong and Giay people in Sapa, confirms: “The signs of gender inequality among ethnic groups can be seen in the continuous practice of wedding challenge, demonstrating the inferior position of women in the family and in the community, as well as the importance of having sons.” Being fully aware of the women’s “low status” and the gender inequality in the EM community, in general, development programs have the tendency to create equality for women by giving them the chance to participate, to receive the opportunity to access, and to improve incomes Reports by the Committee of Ethnic Minorities, UN organizations, the World Bank (WB 2000/01, WB 2009) all show that the issue of gener inequality has been intergrated into development programs for the purpose of removing and reducing poverty There have been hundreds of training sessions on spreading gender knowledge; hundreds of development programs aiming for the goal of gender equality, or intergrating gender elements by both Vietnamese and international NGOs (UNDP 2009) Over the years, the Government has invested heavily in EM areas through a lot of poverty reduction programs (Care 2009), and some other programs such as 135, 30A with an intergrated gender interest Women Associations of all levels also have their own programs and activities (for instance, love and shelter program, etc.) in order to enhance the standard of living and the equality for women In reality, many studies have observed that even when the woman makes a living and provides the main source of contribution to the family’s economy (husband only makes as much as half of his wife), the women still not achieve the “gender equality” as understood in its conventional sense (Berk 1985, Unesco 2010) The microcredit programs or preferential loans for women not make them more powerful, but only increase the burden on women The study in Sa Pa and Ky Son, Nghe An indicates that for the H’Mong women, selling goods is only considered as the “extension” of doing housework Interview at Sin Ho (Lai Chau) reveals that the Dao women, inspite of being the main income earners of the families, are still regarded at a more inferior position than the men, and any income increase will not change their position in the family As a result, the discourse on gender inequality among ethnic minority groups According to the household living level census of 2008, the average poverty rate in EM groups is 49.8%, while for the Kinh and Hoa people, it’s 8.5% (Statistic Bureau, 2008) CEMA, Guideline to integrate gender into Program 135 10 already, but then gave up The commune committee does not let me, my relatives not let me If we divorce then we have to split everything, even the children, and if we split the children then I can only keep the girl, he gets to keep the boy But if he gets married then I get to keep everything, I can take everything, even the children ” The story of En shows that she does not file for a divorce not entirely because of being accepting (“I will get a divorce as soon as I can”) Agreeing to the extended family and the constraints of traditional cutoms also generates from her awareness of gain and loss from the situation En’s pondering and consideration, therefore, demonstrate the calculation and selection of a woman who understands what is best for her at the present time (she does not want to part with the son in case of divorce), not merely because of her resignation Like many other women, the story of H’Yun with her “alcoholic” husband seems to be the source of the family’s discords and sufferings for many EM women The stories of Ms Chu and Ms En reveal that the conflicts in a family can also generate from arranged marriage (which relates to labor demand in the livelihoods), or the husband’s unfaithfulness Ms Tao Thi Chu protested by leaving the house when she was forced to marry someone she did not love so that her parents could “make him live with the family for a lifetime,” then returned as she loved her parents so much, showing that the women have always been considerate of following the customs and the constraints in family relations However, her action of making her husband write up an pre-marriage agreement gives her the initiative and freedom in her life, and then when the agreement was not followed, she was strong enough to make a life-changing decision She did not push herself to settle down for “common sense,” but moved beyond the village’s gossips to get a divorce and find a better new life The process of empowerment for Ms H’Yun and Ms Tao Thi Chu is a process of deliberation, objection and determination The women have risen above the customs’ attachments to make the decision to file for a divorce, change their lives and become successful women in life This should be placed in the EM people’s social context, where divorces rarely happen However, the story of Tao Thi En also shows that her decision of not getting a divorce demonstrates her self-determination in selecting and considering in order to achieve what she wants in the constraints of traditional practices The case of En is fairly common among EM women In reality, even though the women are tied down by traditional customs, they not practice these customs in a completely passive manner The Lu practice of carrying water, cooking and collecting firewood for the husband’s relatives is a burden for the women, 19 but they also realize that getting to know her husband’s extended family can bring the new bride some meaningful material gifts to start a family life, and more importantly, they have been connected to her husband’s village – the social capital necessary for her life later In another aspect – giving birth at home instead of going to medical clinics is another custom that the local officials often mention as a manifestation for the women’s lack of understanding However, our interviews reveal that a large number of Lu, Thai and Dao women in Sin Ho and Bac Kan choose to give birth at home, not because they are 19 As recounted, sometimes the close relatives for the husband’s family are up to 20-30 households, each far away from the other, the new bride has to carry the water and cook for them all 46 “backward” or “unintelligent,” but it is a choice they make based on their experience and consideration of what is best A Dao woman in Bac Kan shares that if she goes to the medical clinic, “it is so embasrassing if there is a male doctor,” the doctors are often from Kinh ethnicity or other ethnic groups, with her limited common language vocabulary, she will not feel comfortable More importantly, they are very confident in the effective herbal treatments for women who just give birth from their own ethnic group Only in tough cases they go to the commune’s medical clinic As recounted, a few hours after giving, the woman will take a herbal bath immediately, after a few days, her health will be back to normal, and if she goes to medical clinic, she will lose her chance of taking the herbal bath A Dao woman says proudly: “After giving birth, the Dao women have herbal remedies to drink or bathe in so when they reach the age of 50 or 60 years old, their leg and arm joints are still not sore Regarding health issues, I dare to confirm that the Dao women are much better than the Kinh women.” (female, 39 years old, Sin Ho) Almost all of the Lu women in Sin Ho give birth at home, with the help from their family members, or sometimes they even manage on their own Before giving birth, the woman prepares a piece of bamboo as the tool to cut the cord The placenta of the child is to be placed in a bamboo tube, and will later be on a tree in the forest The woman in child birth gets to drink a special kind of leave juice to promote health, at the same time, after the birth, the family members often look for a kind of crushed leave to grill and let the woman sit on, which helps to prevent infections and sterilize the amniotic fluid quickly The women’s self-sufficiency is also reflected in many other aspects, for example, during the migration of the family of Ms Ly Thi Van, a Dao woman in Cho Moi, Bac Kan Like many other Dao women in the village (Van’s village only consists of 24 Red Dao households gathering on the slope of a cliff), she only finished nd grade, then she got married and gave birth to two children on her own Fed up with the tough life (they have land but no water, so it is so difficult to grow rice), she remembered her husband’s sister who was living in Binh Dinh, so she discussed and persuaded her husband to move to the South to make a living, even though he did not like the idea The money they got from selling all of their properties was only enough for the ride down, the couple and their two children sloppily traveled by bus for three days and nights to reach their destination, as she recounts: “My legs were swollen from holding the children, I couldn’t feel anything when we arrived, I couldn’t get out.” After a while, she realized that the life here is also as tough as the life at her hometown up North: We also did farming but nothing was pleasant, there was no share, all of the stuffs, we also invested too much money, so when we could not afford anymore, we decided to go to the pawnshop At the pawnshop they did not take money but only took rice, we put in so much rice that sometimes we did not have rice to eat… Those were the time when we were very disappointed, but we already sold all of our properties, if we came home then people would despise But I thought it through, then persuaded him to return He also agreed, he said we should move back up North, we did not want to be here anymore Up there we could live meal by meal Down here, the Dao people did not know how to make a living so it was difficult In the North we can still go hunting, fishing and catching wild animals to sell for rice to eat.” When they first returned, she had to borrow a house to live in and started buying 47 farming land gradually It was very tough at first, but according to Van, returning was the right decision, because now they have water for farming, her family life has become much more comfortable and “happier.” With more money, she buys more farm land and builds house Only by putting Ms Van’s story in the context of the Dao people’s partriarchial traditions and culture can we see her self-determination personality The Dao and H’Mong are considered as the groups with more paternal traditions than the other ethnic groups As discussed above, the women are not as appreciated as the men, they not have the right to own land and property In such context, Ms Van’s ability to persuade her husband and children to sell all of their properties at a mountainous area to move to a strange land down South to make a living, and when life did not turn out as they had hoped for, they were willing to return to start all over again, bought their own land, built their own house, shows a woman’s strength and independence As a result, the case studies show a number of individual EM women who dare to overcome social barriers to take control of their own lives, while some others choose to live with the constraints from family and community (with their own considerations) The woman’s agency is demonstrated in her way of choosing and controlling all the problems occurring in her life, and is expressed in many practical actions (not just in a potential form): deciding to go to school even when they are prohibited; deciding to get a divorce when they are not happy with family life, deciding to migrate to change their life or deciding to voluntarily participate in a few development programs when they can see the benefits from it Even with those women who are not entirely satisfied with their current lives, their agency charateristic is still portrayed through their self-awareness, even when they choose to follow the community rules according to the standards and values of the community in order to achieve what they desire Status of EM women in traditional practices and contemporary society In both traditional society as well as contemporary society, even though the patriarchial society is considered as “looking up to men, looking down on women,” in reality, no gender receives absolute admiration, and also no gender is compressed to the extreme The traditional practices of EM community groups reveal that even in a patriarchial society, the women still have a certain role and position A matriarchial or patriarchial system only expresses the community’s perception on whether the men or the women play an important role in maintaining the family’s race And therefore, the idea of cherishing men more in a patriarchial society or preferring women in a matriarchial society generates mainly from this concept ”The H’Mong people prefers having sons because of this custom, if we have a son then when we get old, all the problems, all the customs are taken care of by the son, and for the daughter, if she gets married, to someone with a Mua or a Sung last name for example, then she has to take up her husband’s last name instead of ours… But it is not sad to have a daughter, because the daughter is hard-working, she works even when we don’t ask her to, she goes picking vegetables, feeing the fish, then sweeping the house We also teach the son but the daughter is still more hard-working…” (H’Mong ethnicity, male, 27 years old, Son Ha village, Ta Cai commune, Ky Son district) ”The Kho-mu people value the sons more But just from a social aspect, that is, going somewhere else But in the family, for other activities it has to be the women.” 48 (Kho-mu ethnicity, male, 38 years old, Ky Son, Nghe An) “Our people often prefer girls, because when a woman gets married, the husband has to live with our family, but when our son grows up, he will just leave to move to his wife’s house.” (Raglay ethnicity, male, 35 years old, Bac Ai, Ninh Thuan) In terms of marriage, it is also quite different from the Kinh ethnicity that many of the EM groups not pay attention to whether the wife is old or younger than the husband “This is simple, getting along well with the young then marry the young, getting along well with the old then marry the old, there is no distinction, just getting married to whoever we compatible” (male, Lu ethnicity, 25 years old, Ma Quai Thang hamlet, Ma Quai commune, Sin Ho) According to the Dao women in Cho Moi, Bac Kan, the granting title custom of the Dao ethnic group also exhibits the close relationship between husband and wife If in other places, the granting title ceremony is associated with coming-of-age ceremony, then with the Red Dao people in Bac Kan, only a married person can get a granting title ceremony, and usually the granting title ceremony is organized for both the wife and the husband One can only become a sorcerer after the granting title ceremony, but both husband and wife have to be granted with the titles so that “when we arrive in heaven in the future, the King of Heaven will let us meet again” (group discussion of Dao women, Cho Moi) For EM communities, customary law has become a traditional institution with an impact on gender relations According to Mua Ba Tung, a young H’Mong man, the H’Mong law teaches the wife to love her husband and fulfill her duties as the wife, and at the same time, it commands the husband to treat his wife nicely …” Men never hit their wives, only the foolish ones If it is not serious then he is fine, but if it is very bad then the husband will be punished People from the wife’s family will punish and make him pay fine That is the law of the H’Mong people If it is serious then we have to worship and give offerings Normally I gave birth to my children so I love them as much as your children, if you don’t understand and then beat up my child then it is not fine, we have to make you pay for it…” (H’Mong ethnicity, male, 27 years old, Son Ha village, Ta Ca commune, Ky Son district) In the traditional self-governing institution of the M’nong people, customary law (nau vay) plays an important role, comprehensively encompassing the village community life One particular note is that one of the expressions of customary law is a form of literary language It is a verse form, illustrating primarily through images and figures, which make it easy to remember, easy to learn by heart and easy to circulate The M’nong people aso have several very strict rules to ensure lasting happiness for the couple Y Plen, a M’nong man in Lak district shares that when a man and a woman are fond of each other (usually the men start to flirt first), the woman’s family will visit the man’s family and celebrate an engagement ceremony During this ceremony, the two families will carry out an necklace exchanging ceremony and prepare a “betting” agreement that both parties will have to sign The agreement clearly states the value of the bet compensation in the case of serious marital problems in the future: Nowadays most people bet in bars of gold or in buffalos In my family, we bet with our buffalos My family set the deal as six one-fist buffalos20, meaning that in the future, if I cheat on my wife, I will 20 One-fist buffalo is considered the biggest kind of buffalo To measure, we use a bamboo string to measure the buffalo’s diameter around the chest ae, and when rolling up the string, it has to be as thick as one fist 49 have to pay the other family with six big buffalos The agreement also indicates how a couple should live, what to when we have a fight People’s advices for the husband and the wife are also recorded in there In the future, if something happens then we will just follow the teachings and let the village patriarch arbitrate the case (Mnong ethnicity, male, 29 years old, Lak district, Dak Lak) The anthropological and sociological studies have shown that the context actually plays a very significant role in the consideration of gender relations, and the relationship between a man and a woman is not an inevitable and immutable natural phenomenon Gender relations in EM communities are not stationary but have also experienced tremendous changes, along with the evolution of social life, the resettlement process, the urbanization development and the impact of mass media In the past, due to the influence of traditional perspectives, the boys were often prioritized in education and access to resources more than the girls Nowadays, limiting the girls’ education to prioritize the boys’ education is no longer popular Mitigating the traditional ritual practices also leads to a more open perception on the role and position of husband and wife According the EM women’s own assessment, their lives have changed significantly Ms Lo Thi Ten, a Thai women’s union official in Nghe An believes that thanks to the impact of newspapers, radio and television, the men have also transformed considerably:“so different from before, in the past it was very tough, he drank alcohol and then tortured me… these days I have more power so I can say things to my husband.” Women from many EM groups also no longer suggest that “housework” is their responsibility Conversations in Cam village, Tri Le commune uncover that many of the Thai women here consider ore mining away from home as the new opportunity to make money They often leave as a group, both men and women, going for or days at a time, and on average, each day they manage to dig up one kilogram with a sumptuous income (they recall that one person left for 10 days and came back with about 18 million dong) On the other hand, many young people no longer feel “ashamed” to “housework.” For example, the women mention the changes in gender relation when the husband does laundry for the wife, helps out with housework, cooking, cleaning, babysitting or taking care of pigs and chickens A young Dao man in Lang Dao hamlet, Yen Dinh commune, Cho Moi district brings up an example ‘even the head of the village does laundry for his wife, so I have nothing to be afraid of.’ Gender standards related to labor division are also changing along with the transformation of socio-economic conditions 50 Slaughtering pigs to prepare for a wedding (Dao village, Cho Moi district, Bac Kan) Having the opportunity to attend and observe a Dao wedding in Cho Moi, we recognized the participation of both men and women in the wedding logistic activities, although each person was in charge of a particular job according to his/her stereotypical gender roles While the men were busy setting up the tent, slaughtering the pigs, cutting up the meat, the women took part in helping out with small tasks While the loud speakers were playing popular love songs, the men butchered the meat and started cooking The women also helped preparing and ate at the same table with the men There was no specific labor division or work burden that the women had to carry throughout the process The young girls, in their modern jeans, were also laughing and directing the boys to hang up pictures and set up the tent From a surface observation, it could be detected that the women’s position here was absolutely not dependent and “inferior” as described in many books A group of Dao women attending the wedding told us that “it is true that in the past, the daughter-in-law did not dare to sit at the same table with the father-in-law, but now we can comfortably sit equally.” Certainly, as this group of Dao people resides near the main town so they are influenced more by the Kinh people’s way of life and the impact of urbanization, while women of other ethnic groups still have certain reservations While a few ethnic groups (such as the Lu and the Thai in Sin Ho) still maintain their traditional costumes, many other ethnic groups want to dress in the style of the Kinh people The Lu’s outfits are still intact, with the dominant colors of indigo and black The women’s headscarves are woven meticulously and skillfully, so that when the women put one on, she can show the embroidery pattern along the border in the two points In Bac Kan, traditional costumes are only found during wedding ceremonies The Dao women in Bac Kan believe that their dresses are inconvenient and problematic in daily life and labor (long flap sweeping the ground, can only wear one layer, too many accessories); and also costly, expensive, require many fabrics, and now it is becoming difficult to find someone who can make one “Now when I wear the traditional Dao costume, the youngsters say that it does not look nice at all I also think that wearing as long as before is not so comfortable anymore, because the dress is long 51 and tight, and it is hot during summer, and I cannot wear anything underneath so it is cold in the winter It is easier to wear Kinh-style clothing now, I can even wear more cotton layers to stay warmer.” (Dao ethnicity, female, 75 years old, Nong Thinh commune, Cho Moi) On the other hand, ethnic prejudices make the Dao people feel uncomfortable wearing their traditional costumes on the street: “I was sitting the the car and they said, that was the ethnic minority; and then asked where the bride was” because the Kinh often tease that wearing a traditional Dao dress makes the woman look like a bride, while in the village, the children laugh mockingly at the women that their outfits look “countryside,” not mordern However, the Dao women here are well aware that ‘they need to keep the roots,’ keeping the custom of wearing the traditional dress when the bride ‘enters’ the husband’s house, if she is wearing a Kinh or western outfit, she must put on a piece of traditional clothing as the top layer so that the ancestor ‘ghost’ will accept her in, and if not, the ancestor will not welcome the new bride (avoiding wearing white) It is important that despite the active changes, they are still aware of the value and significance of their ethnic costumes as their culture (keeping in the wardrobe and wearing them when necessary) The young people generation nowadays, with the ability to speak Kinh language quite fluently, can use many modern means of technology such as mobile phones and change their appearance to the modern style (hair straightening, coloring, jeans, tight shirts…), but they still keep a shy and timid mentality because of the different ethnic stereotypes * * * Therefore, from the perspective of “right” and “position” in this study, the EM women seem to be related to their rights in three aspects: actual ‘right’ (the right in reality, after taking in consideration and calculation of individual woman, and they can actively make decisions); giving ‘right’ (passing deliberately to her husband in accordance with the gender norms in the community or the cultural expectations; the women accept an unofficial position but still get to consult and intervene); given ‘right’ (set targets in development programs and policies) On the other hand, the position should be considered as the difference rather than the high-low: in this context (in the household), the women’s position is higher than the men’s, but in another context (in society), the men’s position might be higher The concepts of “empowerment,” “increasing power” or “enhancing position” for EM women with implications of the submissiveness, dependence and resignation of the women not seem entirely appropriate in some areas and ethnic groups On the one hand, it is noticeable that the EM people define right as a capacity to perform a certain job rather than a need or a criterion And the interpretation for this capacity is based on traditional notions of gender difference On the other hand, although there still exist indications of the “looking up to men, looking down on women” point of view (in reality, there are places and situations where women are still facing severe harassment and customs), categorizing EM women in general in a disadvantaged group with ‘inferior position’ has disregarded the positive subjectivity of women and changes in gender relation along with the social changes taking place daily 52 CONCLUSION Our study indicates that the perspective of EM people on sharing the work load in association with the livelihood needs to co-exist, in the context of lacking productive resources (such as land, money) has become the criteria for the community to identify a husband and wife relationship model The practice to keep this model is the method for each individual to express his personal consent to the common sense/standards of his community Even though in the perception of EM people, the concept of inequality does not exist and they accept to behave in accordance to rules of traditional culture, that does not mean justice for women From a human right perspective, women deserve to have the best opportunities for their own development However, it should be emphasized here that in contrary to the western society where human beings exist with an individual status, the society of EM people does not view a human being as an independent individual but as a component living closely in a social network where members become attached and depend on one another From this point of view, the object to impact is not only the woman, because even when empowered, but if she can only “manage” in the same old space – the context of their traditional culture – imperceptibly they still have to adjust to adapt to the general social framework As a result, any change of personal awareness of the individual woman that does not happen in correspondence with the whole community and with partners in relationships concerning the woman cannot lead to fundamental changes in gender relation We need to loosen the social space for them by propaganda campaigns and programs to raise awareness in the community, thus creating a friendly environment for women to express and practice their concerns Recent development programs targeting empowerment problems often associate gender equality with economic factors, but have not paid adequate attention to community cultural aspect and ethnic factor Gender relations in EM communities are affected significantly by their livelihood life, but we should not “economize” relationships and gender positions A lack of understanding of the EM cultural norms and individual value concept on gender relations on the one hand can turn the good targets of development programs and poverty alleviation models into more burden for the women, but on the other hand, may be the origin of social prejudices on the role, capability and position of EM women when they are blamed to be weak, slow or lazy if the introduced models not succeed Therefore, the cultural context plays an important role for gender relations rather than for financial factors Intervention activities to raise awareness of gender equality need to remove the prejudices against EM women, instead of only focusing on activities raising awareness for women and poverty alleviation programs managed by women, we need to concentrate more on changing the beliefs and perspectives of men and the community (such as raising awareness about the value of housework) On the other hand, women’s empowerment strategies should go in line with the assessment survey in each community to see which practices are consider important, which activities women are restricted to participate in, thus developing basic and fundamental intervention activities The role and position of women and men are very diverse, depending on each family, each community group and each social context Along with the process of 53 globalization and the emergence of a growing number of development policies, the transformation in economic life and gender relations is happening everyday, but not as quiet as described in the dicourses on EM In particular, the self-determination of EM women is exhibited in their selection, calculation and consideration on what they should do, what their husbands should and more importantly, the purposes that their actions are aiming for “Dramatizing” EM women can lead to a one-sided assessment of their gender relations The application of the concept of inequality should take into account the structural features of the local culture and society to gain a more flexible understanding in the context of ethnic culture Similarly, we cannot apply a common gender analysis framework on all ethnic groups but need to evaluate empowerment in the relationships among the individual woman, her family and her community On the other hand, we should develop an agency framework of the women in the reference of their own relationships with the family and community The diversity, variety and colorfulness of Vietnamese culture is a dynamic combination of different EM community cultures, including the tremendous contribution from women, those who preserve the traditional culture and catch up on modern life in their own ways 54 APPENDIX SOME APPROACHES AND GENDER ANALYSIS FRAMEWORKS Several common gender approaches that have been developed for applications by researchers are: i) The Welfare Approach was popular in the period from 1950 to 1970 when the women’s parenting role still faced with many difficulties To create proper conditions for women to better fulfill their role as mothers, there should be other forms of support from the top down to strenghthen measures against malnufunction and promote family planning This direction views women as passive beneficiaries of development through emphasizing reproductive and nurturing roles ii) The Equity Approach was proposed by the UN at international forums during the Decade of women 1976-1985 Some international organizations have applied this perspective in development programs with the aim of improving women’s rights, paying special attention to the three roles of women as well as strategic gender needs iii) The Anti-Poverty Approach is the approach applied by donor organizations since the 70s, in order to improve the women’s capability to reduce poverty iv) The Efficiency Approach aims towards efficient development through mobilizing economic contribution from women, because women’s labor in both re-production and production is a positive contribution to the economy v) The Empowerment Approach is the latest approach that is referred to the most in recent time, widely used in women’s movements in the Third World The basic purpose aims at empowering women through their greater independence (Moser 2006) In addition to the above approaches, researchers and development workers in Vietnam have also used a number of gender analysis tool frameworks that are proposed by international development organizations such as Harvard Analytical Framework, Moser Gender Planning Framework, Gender Analysis Matrix and Women’s Empowerment Framework (WEP) Harvard Analytical Framework (also known as Gender Roles Framework or Gender Analytical Framework)21 consists of a matrix gathering information at the micro level (household and community), including data components related to one another: i) the activity profile (who does what? Gender, age, conducted time and location of that activity); ii) the access and control profile (determined based on gender, resources of activities, and how they access and control those resources); iii) the analysis of influencing factors (to 21 Khung phân tích Viện phát triển sách Harvard kết hợp với văn phòng WID USAID đề xuất, khung lập kế hoạch phân tích giới sớm dựa cách tiếp cận WID Khung Harvard đề xuất lần Overholt, Anderson, Cloud Austin, Gender Roles in Development Projects: A Case Book, 1984, Kumarian Press: Connecticut 55 find out which factors affect the gender difference in the two profiles of activities and accessment above); iv) the analysis of the project cycle (to discover a project or an intervention based on separated information on gender) Moser Gender Planning Framework (often used in conjunction with the Harward Framework) is one of the most popular gender planning frameworks for projects proposed by Caroline Moser, based on the concept of gender roles, gender needs, and policy approaches of gender and planning Gender Analysis Matrix (GAM) is an assessment tool that focuses on the participation and knowledge of the community, finds out the effects of time, resources, labor practice, and other social and cultural factors such as gender role and position Women’s Empowerment Framework (WEP) developed by Sara Hlupekile, establishes the levels of equality (control, participation, awareness, access and benefit) in a progressive order from low to high, which corresponds to the level of empowerment from low to high Thus, this framework tool evaluates women’s empowerment through equality between men and women in the control of a number of production resources and equal participation in the development process Each analytical framework has its own strengths but also limitations The Harvard framework is practical and clear, providing a concrete picture of who does what, when and with which resources, as well as the difference between the access and management of resources As a result, the role and work of women are viewed clearly However, due to the sole focus on finding out “who does what” and emphasizing on the visible separation between activities and resources based on gender and age, this framework has simplified gender relations and does not clarify the power relationship as well as the interactions between elements of gender relations The Harvard assessment framework also has not paid adequate attention to the interpretation of men and women themselves in their cultural context, disregarding the factors behind what is observed as “inequality.” On the other hand, the data collected from this tool reflects a static view of the community without seeing the continuous changes over time of gender relations The Moser Framework has strength of conceptualizing the planning process to challenge gender inequality and support for women’s empowerment Through the separation of the three gender roles, the Moser framework helps the planners to look at the work of women explicitly Moser also distinguishes different types of gender needs: needs related to daily living (practical gender needs) and needs with the potential to completely switch dependent relations of gender (strategic gender needs) However, the Moser data collection framework is fairly static and cannot identify the changes over time Women’s Empowerment Framework by Sara Hlupekile also has the strength to help identify the practical and strategic needs of women, and that “empowerment” is an essential element in development However, classifying the degree of equality in a progressive order is not entirely convincing This assessment framework also cannot specify how the situation changes over time On the other hand, gender relations are only inspected from the perspective of equality while ignoring other cultural factors, the concept of rights and the responsibilities of both men and women 56 References ADB (2006) Assessment of gender situation in Vietnam (co-funded by ADB, DFID, CIDA) ADB (2010) Gender Equality Results in ADB projest Viet Nam Country Report By Kate Nethercott, Tuyen Nguyen, Juliet Hunt Batliwala, Srilatha (2007) “Taking the Power out of Empowerment: An Experiential Account Development in Practice Oxfam GB Vol 17, no 4/5, pp.557-565 Care (2009) Mapping of current ethnic minority minority programmes and actors By Le Mai Huong CCIHP & Oxfam Novib (2011) Agency and Development Gender and Sexuality Review Vol 4/2011 Carter, Marion W (2004) Gender and Community Context: An Analysis of Husbands’Household Authority in Rural Guatemala Sociological Forum, vol 19, No.4, pp.633Dang Canh Khanh and Le Thi Quy (2007) The study of family Hanoi: Publishing House of Political Theory Francine, Deutsch M (2007) Undoing Gender Gender and Society, Vol 21, No.1, pp 106127 Green, Joanne Helen (2008) “Measuring women’s empowerment: development of a model” International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, volume 4, No3., pp.369-389 Vietnam Women’s Union and the Center for Scientific Research on Family and Women (1989) Vietnamese women in the 80s Hanoi, Publishing House of Foreign Literature IlSSA, UNIFEM, and AusAID (2009) Socio-Economic Impacts of WTO accession on rural women Qualitative Research in Hai Duong and Dong Thap, Vietnam By Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Dao Ngoc Nga, Annalise Moser and April Pham Kabeer, Naila (1999) “Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment” Development and Change Vol 30, pp.435-464 Active Group on Poverty Alleviation of the Government of Vietnam – donors – nongovernmental organizations (2000) Attacking poverty: Vietnam Development Report of 2000 Report by the Active Group Conference of Consultative Group for donors in Vietnam Hanoi: The World Bank Oakley, P (Ed) (2001) Evaluating Empowerment: Reviewing the Concept and Practice Oxford: INTRAC Sarah Mosedale (2005) Assessing Women’s Empowerment: towards a conceptual framework Journal of International Development, 17 (2), 243-257 Tran Thi Van Anh (2006) “Gender approach in family study”, in Family Research – Feminist theory, gender perspective (Le Ngoc Van as Chief author) Publishing House of Social Sciences, H., 2006., p 153-172 57 Unesco Priority Gender Equality Action Plan 2008-2013 Unesco (2010) Tourims, Gender, Ethnicity, and Challenges to sustainable development in multiethnic upland of Vietnam A Case Study of Sa Pa (Truong Huyen Chi, unpublished report) UNDP (2009), E-Discussion: Gender - Overcoming Unequal Power, Unequal Voice Human Development Report Unit UNDP Regional Centre for Asia Pacific Colombo Office WB (2000), World Development Report, WDR 2000/01 WB (2008) How women fare in education, employment and health? A Gender Analysis of the 2006 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey Final Report WB (2009) National Society Analysis Report on Ethnicity and Development in Vietnam WB Group and UN - Viet Nam (2005) Preparing for the Future: Forward-looking Strategies to Promote Gender Equity in Vietnam By Naila Kabeer, Tran Thi Van Anh, Vu Manh Loi Thematic Discussion Paper 58 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study indicates that the ongoing discourse on gender inequality in the ethnic minority community seems to only dramatize and describe one-sidedly the role of ethnic minority women: they not only hold a humble social status and be the victims of domestic violence and imbalanced labor distribution, but also have no rights, hold no power to make decisions and constantly suffer from poverty Based on this awareness, development programs are inclined to establish equality and empowerment for women by offering them the opportunities to participate, gain access resources and increase their incomes However, such an evaluation of ethnic minority women’s status is influenced by gender analysis based on outsiders’ perspective of equality and rights with a distinct system of values, rather than from the perception of ethnic minority people themselves This study also shows that the ethnic minority people have no concept of “gender equality,” instead, the community use “togetherness” and harmony as the main criteria to assess a married relationship model, given a social context in which they lack production resources and need to stick together to coexist and maintain livelihood Unlike Western societies where people exist as individuals, the society of ethnic minority people does not regard man as an independent individual but rather an integral piece of a tight social network where members depend on one another, are strongly tied and bound together by standards and practices The development programs striving for empowerment issues recently often associate gender equality with economic factor, however, they have not provided relevant attention to the communal culture perspective as well as the ethnic aspect This study confirms that financial management within a family is not necessarily tied to the woman’s status (as sometimes it is the indication that the husband is good and reliable – “good husbands get to manage the money”), while raising income and reducing poverty does not always lead to increased power In ethnic minority society, people live by a very simple principle that everything needs to be discussed, no one can make the decision on his own As they value sharing, harmony and togetherness in life, the matter of who makes the final decision is only the last step of the discussion process to reach consensus When a woman “leaves” all the final decisions to her husband, it sometimes reflects her flexibility and decisiveness As a result, applying the “who-makes-decisions” model in the analytical framework for empowerment to assess rights and gender status in ethnic minority families is not entirely appropriate The participating roles of women are very different in each community, but not taking part does not necessarily mean women are disadvantaged or have no rights, as this could be affected by many other dominant factors (language, transportation) On one hand, a lack of understanding of the ethnic minority people’s cultural norms and personal values of gender relations can turn positive goals of development programs and poverty reduction models into burdens for women On the other hand, that may be the origin of social prejudice against the ethnic minority women’s role, ability and status as they are blamed for being poor, slow or lazy if those models fail to succeed Therefore, the cultural context plays a much more important part in gender 59 relations than financial factors The role and status of women and men are very diverse, depending on each family, each community groups and each social context The concepts of empowerment and social status are only relative in each context From a daily life perspective, the ethnic minority people’s notion for rights is identified with the capacity to perform a task rather than a needed essential or criteria The “power” of ethnic minority women can be seen from three aspects: the tangible ‘power’ (in reality, after the consideration and calculation of each individual woman), the ‘power’ to give (the woman deliberately transfers to her husband), and the given ‘power’ (the target set in each development programs and policies) On the other hand, the status is more of a difference than just simple highs and lows: in one context (at home), women might have a higher status than men, but in other context (in public), the men hold higher standing The application for the concepts of “equality” or “inequality” needs to be perceived from cultural and social characteristics of the ethnic’s cultural background Similarly, we cannot simply apply a common gender analysis framework to all ethnics, but should evaluate empowerment in specific relationships among the individual woman, family and community Alternatively, there exists a need to develop an ‘agency framework’ to understand women’s empowerment Along with globalization and the emergence of a growing number of development policies, changes in economic life and gender relations are happening daily rather than being delayed as stated in many discourses on ethnic minority In particular, the ethnic minority women’s agency is demonstrated in their selection, calculation and consideration of what to do, what the husband should and more importantly, what is the purpose of their actions The “victimization” of ethnic minority women’s lives can lead to superficial judgments on gender relations and failure to notice the dynamism in the gender relations of the ethnic minority 60 [...]... believing that the division of labor has shed the burden on the women’s shoulders, from the point of view of EM people, the issue of “who does what” originates from the perspective of helping each other out (within the standard of being together), whoever is stronger does the heavier tasks, and whoever does something better stays in charge of it The roles of different family members are interdependent;... resources and increading income; iii) Participation and Decision-making This report, therefore, using the principles of anthropology to illuminate a number of evaluation criteria for empowerment: * Gender roles and division of labor: In the gender analysises, this is considered as a core element in the maintenance of gender inequality In the report, we will analyze the EM people’s perspective and try... that when having guests, both husband and wife sit down to eat and drink wine with guests (Black Thai ethnicity, female, 25 years old, Ma Quai commune, Sin Ho) As an alternative, the EM people often mention the words caring for each other, working together, and sharing The caring for each other, the working together and the sharing between husband and wife have seemed to become a standard in gender behavior,... system instead of depriving from the perspective of the EM people themselves Therefore, the solutions to change the current situation of gender inequality seem to be more than just an increase in income and economics Before developing appropriate strategies and policies to the problem of gender inequality in EM areas, we need to set out to explore the EM people’s own thoughts on gender relations in the. .. technique of planting trees and other… Going to meetings or voting is often only for men Women are busy with the kids, so when people keep talking of one thing to another, they don’t understand And the trainings are always conducted in the common language, if the women come, they won’t be able to understand, only the men can absorb it, after that we have another meeting in Thai language I go to the training... resources to increase income as well as managing the family’s finances is not necessarily in a close relationship with the empowerment of the EM women in the family The factors surrounding ethnic culture play a significant role in the context of production and economics, therefore, the indicators of poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment should also be placed in the cultural context of each ethnic community... one of the 15 smallest ethnic minority groups in Vietnam) Some groups incline to matriarchy (Mnong) while others follow the patriarchy tradition According to the problem “interface” approach (not using “points” of research), in the report, we do not have the ambition to continue further and explain thoroughly from the cultural perspective of each individual ethnic group, but only set a goal to attain... the money that they earn, if the husbands ask for it, they will still give it to them, but for property and possession, they will “never get to touch.” Similar to the group of Dao women, the women from Thai and Muong ethnicity are also very active in working and earning extra income The Thai women in Que Phong can make very fine wine, and thus engage in trading and exchanging with other ethnic groups,... position in the family Moreover, if the community relationship is valued, and making profits are considered bad, then earning money from trading is also not respected (eg the Raglai people in Ninh Thuan) Second of all, if the idea of women earning money for the family is not a cultural expectation, then their efforts not only do not change their status in the family, but also bring them the aversion from the. .. capability of the women in the specific context of ethnic culture Here, we support the view that women’s empowerment is a process in which women define themselves and extend what makes them who they are, what they can do in the stuations that they are limited comparing to men (Misadale 2005:252) In other words, empowerment can be interpreted as the women are in control of their lives: by themselves, they ... employment in Vietnam; Summary analysis of gender indicators in the population and housing census of Vietnam in 2009 (UNFPA), indicating the alarming status of growing gender imbalance in Vietnam; Gender. .. demonstrating the inferior position of women in the family and in the community, as well as the importance of having sons.” Being fully aware of the women’s “low status” and the gender inequality in the. .. from the point of view of EM people, the issue of “who does what” originates from the perspective of helping each other out (within the standard of being together), whoever is stronger does the