Vietnam makes good progress in gender equality: UN Women representative

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam (Photo: UN Women Vietnam)

Hanoi - The Vietnamese Government has made a great success in advancing gender equality, and the UN Women has accompanied the Government in the work, Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam, has said.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency’s reporters, she said the UN Women has helped Vietnam align its legal system with international standards so as to promote gender equality in the nation.

She described the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as the most important standard, which was ratified by the Vietnamese National Assembly in 1982, noting that Vietnam was among the first countries to ratify the convention.

Along with assisting Vietnam in building policies and regulations, UN Women helped the nation in their enforcement, providing instructions and studies on gender equality and protection of women and girls.

Currently, UN Women is helping the Vietnamese Government set up the national strategy on gender equality during 2021-2030, she said, stressing that all the help has focused on eliminating discrimination in all forms against women and girls with five priority areas, which are ending violence against women and girls, promoting women’s economic empowerment, mitigating impacts of natural disasters, enhancing Vietnamese women’s leadership, and ensuring the principle “no one is left behind”, with a view to realising the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Talking about the factors contributing to UN Women's success in Vietnam in the past 10 years, she mentioned the contingent of dedicated and enthusiastic staff members most of whom are Vietnamese. Another important factor is the Vietnamese Government’s commitments to numerous international conventions and agreements on gender equality, including the CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Close relations with local partners are also important, she said, adding that the UN Women has also brought its considerable experience and gender equality experts to help the Vietnamese government.

On the occasion, she expressed her impression on the Vietnamese Lunar New Year as a wonderful time when family members gather for the celebration.

However, she noted that there is a lot of unpaid work that falls on women during Tet holiday such as cooking and clean up. If men share the housework with women, Tet will be more happy for everyone, she said.

Currently, UN Women is spreading the message “Housework is not any individual’s obligation, share the work to welcome a warmer Tet with your loved ones!” on its Facebook fanpage, she said.

She hoped that the Vietnamese women will be liberated from unpaid work so that they will have more time to relax and have more opportunities to pursue studying and career.

She stressed that behind a successful woman there is always support from her family and her man.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, she wished Vietnamese families a warm and happy Tet.