Dao Thi Uyen
Faculty of History, Hanoi University of Education
In Vietnam’s history, women have always played an important role in nation building and protection. Their sacrifices have forged the glorious tradition and valuable dignity of Vietnamese people. In the past two thousand years, women have been a crucial force in the national economy, which is heavily dependent on agriculture, by maintaining food security for people, including those who had to go to the front against aggressors. Even women themselves, in many cases, had to stand up together with men to fight for freedom, as shown through numerous resistant wars, including those against the Chinese Han dynasty in the 1st century AD, Chinese Wu state authority in the 3rd century, Chinese Yuan dynasty in the 13th century, Chinese Ming dynasty in the 15th century, and the French and Americans in the 20th century. Since the country was officially unified in 1975, the role of women has been empowered more than ever. Many women have been appointed as leaders of top policymaking institutions, congresses, government agencies, and schools. The rate of women holding PhDs, Professor and Associate Professor titles is on the rise. Many individuals and groups of women have won national awards. Vietnamese women should have good reasons to be proud of all they have contributed to the nation for millennia.
(Presented in the 2013 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: The Emergence and Heritage of Asian Women Intellectuals, 10-11 September 2013, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Indian Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University)