Today is International Day for Rural Women and to commemorate this day Australia Awards Vietnam is highlighting the work of Australia Awards – Vietnam alumnus, Vu Thi Hien, the founder of the non-government organisation Centre of Research and Development in Upland Areas (CERDA).
In many ways, Vietnam is a leader in South-East Asia in terms of gender equality indicators, with comparatively high scores in literacy, school attendance and a comprehensive health care system. However, sociocultural factors and expectations of women still contribute to gender inequality throughout Vietnam, especially in rural areas.
According to the Asian Development Bank, women still experience poverty in female-headed households, longer working hours and unequal pay, poor representation in decision-making positions, and limited access to resources such as land, property, job training, nutrition and health care.
Vu Thi Hien works to combat this, and to improve life for all people living in Vietnam’s disadvantaged regions. After completing her Maters in Agriculture in 1998 through an Australia Awards Scholarship, Hien returned to Vietnam and embarked on a research trip to the north of Vietnam. During this trip, she met with ethnic minorities living in poverty and felt the need to change the direction of her life to help others.
In 2004, Hien established CERDA, which runs projects to help local people in four provinces and 50 communes. One form of support to local people, especially women, is to help ethnic minorities and forest dependent community to access their long-term forest use rights, become capable forest owners and create sustainable income from forests.
CERDA has a strong focus on gender equality and helping rural women realise their rights. By investigating the causes of gender inequality, rural women can find suitable social and cultural solutions for their community. Cultural elements and the understanding of rights play an important role in women’s social participation, which is why CERDA prioritises providing training and opportunities for women.
The research and the project implementation that CERDA undertakes also assists with advocating at the local, national and international level for recognition and respect of the rights of ethnic minorities and local communities, especially women. Hien is proud of helping farmers in the northern and central region of Vietnam to access forest use rights and to form farmer collective systems with legal status in protecting forests. This also contributes to mitigation and adaptation of climate change. She also encourages and helps farmers in promoting organic agriculture and soil protection.
Hien credits her time in Australia for her confidence to establish CERDA, stating “in Australia what I learnt was not just academic but I learnt a new way of thinking, I learnt about accountability and transparency in my methods of work, in turn which helped me to contribute to a better Vietnam for all.”
Australia Awards Vietnam is proud to manage the Australia Awards Scholarship scheme as part of the Australian Government’s Aus4Skills program, providing human resources development and education opportunities for people in Vietnam.
Watch Vu Thi Hien’s story here:
