Gender equality to achieve sustainable development goals

World Population Day 2023 has the theme: “Harnessing the Power of Gender Equality: Raising the voices of women and girls to unleash the unlimited potential of our world.”

In Vietnam, the issue of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls has been receiving deep attention from the Party, State, sectors, organizations and the whole society.

Gender equality has always been a major goal of the Government; an important task in the socio -economic development strategy; building a prosperous, democratic, equitable and civilized country.

Contribute to controlling the sex ratio at birth

According to the General Department of Population and Family Planning ( Ministry of Health ), the sex ratio at birth in Vietnam is currently 112.1 boys/100 girls (the normal ratio is 104-106 boys/100 girls).

Gender imbalance at birth, which previously occurred mainly in urban areas and the Northern Delta, has now spread to 6/6 socio-economic regions in the country.

This will lead to a surplus of men and a shortage of women, causing direct and profound impacts on the population structure, leading to far-reaching and long-term consequences for social, racial, national and ethnic issues.

The underlying cause of the above situation is the influence of the "male superiority" ideology that is deeply ingrained in the minds of many Vietnamese people.

This causes many couples to abuse scientific and technological advances in obstetrics… to choose the gender of the fetus before birth; if the fetus is a girl, they tend to have an abortion.

This is harmful to women and girls, reflecting discrimination and gender inequality even before a girl is born.

The State of World Population Report 2020 published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam shows that more than 140 million girls are "not born" worldwide due to gender-biased sex selection. In Vietnam, each year about 40,800 girls do not have the chance to be born.

Master Pham Thi Hong (psychologist Hong Huong), Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children's Rights, shared that gender imbalance at birth negatively affects the mental and physical life of women and girls; further reinforcing gender discrimination against those who cling to old customs and ideas that are no longer appropriate.

This ideology directly affects women and girls. For example, when a woman gives birth to a girl first and not a boy, she will be pressured in the next pregnancy. At the same time, girls born in an environment of gender inequality will unintentionally form a "gender definition" that they are not as valuable as boys.

Master Pham Thi Hong said that through the implementation of projects, there are cases where this gender definition has caused the phenomenon of "psychological LGBT" (exogenous LGBT).

There are girls who want to become boys and have boyish behaviors to please their parents and meet their expectations. This unconsciously affects their lives and future.

The growing fear of marriage in Vietnam may have its roots in gender inequality. Many women choose to be single mothers because they see the pressure that comes from gender inequality.

Gender imbalance at birth is at an alarming level, causing many consequences for individuals, families and the sustainable development of the nation and people.

Sex selection at birth is a violation of human rights, deepens gender stereotypes and gender inequality; creates discrimination against girls and affects the progress and position of women in society.

However, if gender equality is effectively implemented, it will help improve the role and status of women in the family and society; reduce gender imbalance; and help Vietnam control the sex ratio at birth, moving towards a natural balance.

Equipping children with knowledge about gender and gender equality

Over the years, Vietnam has carried out many activities to promote gender equality and achieved important achievements.

According to the Vietnam Women's Union, the percentage of female National Assembly deputies of the 15th tenure reached 30.26%, 3.46% higher than the 14th tenure and the highest since the 5th National Assembly (currently ranked 62/190 countries); the percentage of female workers receiving wages is 48.3%.

The rate of women-owned businesses reached 26.5%, contributing to Vietnam's women's progress index in businesses ranking 9th out of 58 countries and 2nd out of 6 Southeast Asian countries studied.

Notably, for the first time in history, the Vietnam Women's Football Team won a ticket to the 2023 Women's World Cup finals. Women in the Vietnam Armed Forces participated effectively and responsibly in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.

With its continuous efforts, Vietnam has been recognized by the world as one of the 10 countries that have achieved the 5th Sustainable Development Goal on promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls. However, according to experts, Vietnam is still facing many challenges in gender equality.

Therefore, to move towards an equal society where women and girls are treated fairly and are empowered and given the same development opportunities as men, experts say it is necessary to strongly implement socio-economic policies aimed at improving gender equality, enhancing women's status in society, and gradually overcoming the ideology of "preferring men over women."

At the same time, it is necessary to build and promulgate a social security system and economic welfare projects focusing on women and girls; strengthen communication and raise awareness for government leaders at all levels, organizations, unions, couples, etc.

In particular, implementing gender education and gender equality with appropriate content and forms from an early age to provide knowledge and skills to implement gender equality for the young generation is extremely important.

Recognizing the importance of gender equality, the Ministry of Education and Training has developed training courses to improve the capacity to implement gender equality for managers and teachers from preschool to general education.

The Ministry has compiled the document "Guidelines for gender education in educational activities for preschool children" to support preschool managers and teachers; at the same time, help preschool children have appropriate awareness of gender and gender diversity; form attitudes of acknowledging and respecting gender differences...

The Ministry of Education and Training eliminates gender bias in curricula and textbooks; researches and develops content on gender, gender equality, and reproductive health into teaching and deploys it into the official lecture system.

At the same time, the Ministry also innovates methods and forms of teaching these contents and builds content on gender equality into the teacher training program...

In 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training will coordinate with the Vietnam Women's Union to organize training to improve the capacity to establish and operate the "Leaders of Change Club" model for secondary schools in extremely disadvantaged communes and villages in Project 8 (Implementing gender equality and solving urgent issues for women and children) under the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030.

The club's activities aim to create positive changes in awareness of gender equality; eliminate gender stereotypes; gradually change behaviors and attitudes in preventing and responding to violence, child abuse and reproductive health care issues for high school students...

The club also increases activities for ethnic minority girls to experience and develop their strengths.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Ngo Thi Minh, sex education is now an indispensable part of a quality education.

Children need to be equipped with knowledge about gender and sexuality, helping them initially understand gender and know how to protect themselves.

The lack of preparation not only leaves children vulnerable to exploitation and other negative consequences, but also shows the failure of those responsible in society to fulfill their obligations to the younger generation.

Without responding to the call of young people for comprehensive, quality sexuality education, we will not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030, nor fulfill the commitment to "leaving no one behind"./.

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