Confronted with this reality, the implementation of the Project “Disseminating, educating, mobilizing, and supporting women to participate in resolving a number of social issues related to women in the 2017-2027 period” under Decision No.938/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister has contributed to creating positive changes, elevating the role and status of women in both the family and society.

Right from the start of the project, the provincial People’s Committee issued a plan to materialize the targets and tasks. The provincial Women’s Union proactively coordinated with departments, sectors, and localities to synchronously deploy dissemination, mobilization, and support activities for women to participate in resolving social issues. The promotional contents focused on urgent matters such as child abuse prevention, human trafficking prevention, drug control, domestic violence prevention, child marriage, and consanguineous marriage.

During the 2017-2027 phase, the entire province saw 287,706 turns of people - including women and parents with children under 16 - access information, legal knowledge, and child care and education skills. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of members upgraded their understanding of their legitimate rights and benefits through clubs and group associations, empowering them to proactively join in solving social issues.

Once a shy, timid person with limited legal understanding, Sùng Thị Hịa from the Women and Law Club of Tủa Thàng commune has transformed into a confident individual who actively participates in grassroots dissemination activities. She shared that since joining the club, she has been regularly propagated on legal knowledge by cadres, helping her grasp the guidelines and viewpoints of the Party as well as the policies and laws of the State. Knowing these regulations herself, she has mobilized her relatives, family members, and local residents to strictly comply with the law and stay away from social evils.

Numerous practical models have been built and maintained to create an environment for women to promote their roles in the community. Women’s Unions at all levels have maintained the operations of 142 models and constructed 25 new ones focused on building happy families and ensuring safety for women and children. The “Godmother” program has been effectively deployed, mobilizing the sponsorship of 273 orphans in exceptionally difficult circumstances. Through these models, women’s union members are equipped with legal knowledge and life skills, thereby boldly contributing ideas and working with authorities to resolve issues arising at the grassroots level.

This effort has been strongly backed by various departments and sectors. The Department of Home Affairs successfully maintained 100 domestic violence prevention models, 613 sustainable family development clubs, and 698 domestic violence prevention groups. Similarly, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism constructed 405 sustainable family development clubs and 538 domestic violence prevention groups. Meanwhile, the Department of Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs established 12 dissemination clubs to mitigate child marriage and consanguineous marriage in ethnic minority areas. In the economic domain, the Department of Agriculture and Environment implemented 21 safe agricultural production models that attracted 442 turns of household participation, bolstering the role of women in family-level economic development.

Support activities for women and children in difficult circumstances have received increasing attention. The provincial Police maintain multiple humanitarian programs, such as the “Godmother” initiative supporting 16 orphans and the “Adopted Children of Điện Biên Police” program which nurtures and educates 40 children. Other programs, including “Accompanying Border Women” and “The Three-Best Diary,” continue to yield practical efficiency, helping women in remote, isolated, and border zones overcome hardships and stabilize their lives.

Typically, through the “Accompanying Border Women” program, local party committees, authorities, the Women’s Union, and the Provincial Border Guard have coordinated to deploy many practical activities to support border women in economic development, legal awareness, and cultural life building.

During the 2021-2025 phase, the units contributed over 7,000 working days, supported 12,600 plants and breeding animals, and built livelihood models like “Women’s Flower Roads” and “Clean Houses, Beautiful Gates,” contributing to changing the face of the border countryside. Concurrently, they mobilized 100 collectives and over 12,900 individuals to participate in self-managing nearly 400 km of borderlines, along with 98 collectives and over 13,000 individuals managing 146 landmarks and 10 border works, while maintaining 315 self-management teams with more than 2,000 members participating in preserving security and order in hamlets and villages.

Upgrading the capacity of the cadre contingent executing the project is a task highly prioritized by women’s union levels. During the deployment period, women’s union levels organized over 300 training classes for about 15,000 turns of cadres, reporters, and propagandists. Concurrently, they organized 105 training and communication classes for 204,981 women on gender equality, healthcare, food safety, and essential life skills. Social monitoring, criticism, and the protection of the legitimate rights of women and children achieved many positive outcomes, contributing to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of women and children.

Pờ Diệu Ninh, Chairwoman of the provincial Women’s Union, stated: “The deployment of Project 938 has contributed to raising awareness and legal compliance among women’s union members and women, while promoting their role as main actors in participating in resolving social issues right from the grassroots level. Through practical dissemination activities, models, clubs, and support programs, women have become increasingly confident, proactively protecting their legitimate rights and interests, actively participating in building happy families, developing the economy, and preserving local security and order.”

After nearly 10 years of implementation, Project 938 has created a clear shift in both the awareness and actions of all levels, sectors, and citizens regarding issues related to women and children. Women have become increasingly proactive in participating in social activities, building happy families, preventing domestic violence, protecting children, and developing the economy, contributing to building a safe, equal, and sustainably developing community across the province.