For women in ethnic minority and highland areas, socio-economic conditions are difficult, and many backward customs and gender prejudices still exist. These are the main causes leading to women’s rights to gender equality not being valued. Women’s equal participation in areas of social life and access to knowledge and social services remain limited.

Sính Phình is a highland commune with a large area, and the population is mainly Hmong people. To promote gender equality, enhance women’s economic empowerment, and solve urgent problems of women and children, local party committees and authorities have coordinated to deploy many communication activities to change ways of thinking and doing, contributing to eliminating gender prejudices and stereotypes in the community. Along with that, encouraging and promoting women to develop economically and improve their position and voice in the family and society is also focused on, step-by-step creating a foundation to change the community’s thinking and awareness about gender equality.

Đào Thị Lan Anh, Chairperson of the Women’s Union of Sính Phình commune, said: “The whole commune has 30 branches with over 2,000 members. For gender equality to be effective from the roots, first of all, the awareness of women and people must be changed. Therefore, the Union mainly focuses on coordinating with village elders and village heads to communicate directly to each village so that people understand more about gender equality rights. Thereby changing views, thoughts, and behaviors in the community, eliminating backward prejudices and customs regarding gender, preventing domestic violence, and creating the best conditions for the development of women and girls in ethnic minority areas.”

During the year, the Women’s Union of Sính Phình commune organized over 30 dialogue conferences and concentrated propaganda sessions in villages on implementing support policy packages for ethnic minority women regarding safe delivery, child health care, and prevention of child marriage and consanguineous marriage, attracting over 2,000 women to participate. The Union built and deployed 5 communication drives on implementing gender equality, eliminating gender prejudices and stereotypes, and solving urgent issues for women and girls.

Thào Thị Dợ, head of the women’s branch in Tà Là Cáo village, shared: Due to long-standing prejudices and customs, Hmong women mainly did housework and took care of the family, and everyone considered that obvious as it had been for generations. After participating in talks and communication sessions on gender equality, I and the sisters in the union understood better the role and position of women in the community; women have the right to participate in social fields like men. Tà Là Cáo village has 100 female members; in recent years, thanks to the union’s communication work, 80/100 members in the village have accessed preferential loan sources, proactively and actively built household economic models, raising the economic status and voice of women in the family and community.

Currently, savings and loan groups managed by the Women’s Union of Sính Phình commune have assisted and guided over 700 households to borrow policy capital for economic development, with a total outstanding debt of over VND 35 billion.

Thào Thị Giàng, Tà Là Cáo village, shared: “Encouraged by the Union, I borrowed VND 50 million from the Bank for Social Policies, mainly used for raising livestock and poultry to serve family needs and sell commercially to traders. Thanks to the effective economic development loan source, the family has less economic discord, husband and wife are harmonious, and children receive more attention and care in their studies and health.”

Through diverse communication activities integrated with the socio-economic development program in ethnic minority areas, women and girls are living in a safer and more equal environment. Thereby building a solid foundation, helping women and girls be protected, promote their capabilities, and contribute increasingly strongly to the general development of the locality.