Gender equality and women's safety in the digital age.

In commemoration of the 2025 Month of Action for Gender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence, a reporter from HanoiMoi Newspaper had an interview with Ms. Le Kim Anh, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and President of the Hanoi Women's Union, about the achievements in gender equality work and development orientations for 2026.

Many positive developments

- 2025 is considered a year of significant milestones for gender equality in Hanoi . Could you tell us about the outstanding achievements that the Hanoi Women's Union has accomplished in the past year?

Vice Chairperson of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and Chairperson of the Hanoi City Women's Union, Le Kim Anh. Photo: Bao Lam

- In 2025, closely following Plan No. 07/KH-UBND of the Hanoi City People's Committee, the Standing Committee of the Hanoi City Women's Union comprehensively implemented gender equality work with practical activities, achieving many remarkable results.

Women's associations at all levels have focused on effectively disseminating information to raise awareness about gender equality, the role of women in the family and society, relevant legal regulations, and the prevention of gender-based violence. At the city level, there have been 7 major communication events, 3 training courses, 24 awareness campaigns, and 2 mock trials, with particular attention paid to women in remote areas and women from ethnic minority groups.

The Women's Union branches organized seminars, specialized training courses, and member activities... It is very encouraging that the percentage of women participating in the commune-level Party committees of Hanoi city for the 2025-2030 term reached 28.44%.

The activities highlighted traditional education , honoring the contributions of women in building and defending the Fatherland; the creativity and beauty of Hanoi women, with a profound and widespread impact, such as the series of activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the "Three Responsibilities" movement with the seminar "The Three Responsibilities Women's Movement - Historical and Contemporary Values" and the art program with live television broadcast "The Enduring Tradition of the Three Responsibilities Women's Movement"; and the program where Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan met and presented gifts to 95 exemplary female Party members of Hanoi at the Presidential Palace.

In addition, there will be the "Hanoi Women for Peace and Development" Festival, the 2nd "Healthy and Beautiful Hanoi Women" Walking Race, the "Ao Dai Dance - Colors of Hanoi Women" mass performance, and the Women's Day for Technology Application and Innovation…

We also focus on applying information technology in communicating about gender equality on the website, fanpage of the Hanoi Women's Union, Hanoi Women's Newspaper, and other media platforms, contributing to raising awareness of the role of women in the digital age.

Regarding activities supporting women's health and protecting their legitimate rights and interests, the Hanoi Women's Union, in coordination with the Department of Health and the Hanoi Oncology Hospital, implemented a communication and screening program for breast and cervical cancer for 57,378 women aged 35-60. 590 women received free screening, and 244 women in difficult circumstances and victims of domestic violence received general health check-ups, with a total cost of 414 million VND.

The OSSO Hanoi office's activities in supporting returning migrant women, spearheaded by the Association, include counseling, psychological support, healthcare connections, and livelihood support; proposing solutions to 35 complaints related to women to competent authorities; receiving 7 cases from the House of Peace and 3 cases through public opinion, coordinating the resolution and providing timely support to victims.

Not only focusing on women, the Women's Union at all levels has also actively implemented the "Godmother" and "Accompanying Children" programs with the goal of supporting children, both boys and girls, to have more equal conditions and opportunities in education and life. Throughout the city, they have mobilized and connected sponsors for 1,123 out of a total of 2,990 orphaned children in difficult circumstances, with a total support budget of 2.15 billion VND.

The Hanoi City Women's Union has implemented numerous activities to raise awareness about gender equality, enhance women's status, and protect the rights of girls. (Photo: PV)

- Among the goals of gender equality, supporting women's economic development is considered a central focus. Could you share more specific details about the activities supporting women in this area?

- That's right, supporting women in enhancing their economic empowerment is one of the important goals to ensure genuine gender equality and sustainable development, and it is also a key focus of the City Women's Union.

As of October 31, 2025, the Women's Union at all levels had proactively exploited and managed unsecured loan capital from banks and credit institutions totaling over 10,397 billion VND for 148,144 female members to borrow for economic development. The outstanding entrusted loan balance with the Social Policy Bank reached 9,557 billion VND for 135,170 members in 3,640 savings and loan groups.

We also focus on improving knowledge of applied science and technology, sharing experiences in production, livestock farming, and crop cultivation; applying digital transformation to build brands and increase product value; and especially supporting women's entrepreneurship, enhancing the capacity of household producers, business owners, female entrepreneurs, and cooperatives managed and operated by women. In 2025, we trained 965 women who are business owners, cooperative managers, and household business owners on the application of digital technology in production and business, startup skills, digital transformation, and e-commerce. This is an important step to help women quickly integrate into the digital age.

In addition, the Women's Union at all levels supported the establishment of 6 new cooperatives managed and operated by women, with 33 members, exceeding the set target by 200%. We also coordinated vocational training for 2,960 female workers and introduced jobs to 11,814 female workers, contributing to job creation and income improvement for women.

The "3 Safe" orientation in the digital age.

- During the 2025 Month of Action for Gender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence, what are the outstanding activities that the Association will organize, Comrade?

- This year's theme for Gender Equality Action Month emphasizes the need to enhance safe digital skills for women and children; and to build a healthy, civilized online environment free from gender stereotypes and violence.

We are pleased that the National Assembly recently passed the amended Law on Cybersecurity and that Vietnam successfully held the signing ceremony for the "Hanoi Convention" - the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime.

Raising awareness about preventing and responding to violence and abuse against women and children in cyberspace. Photo: PV

Following the directives of the Central Women's Union and the City People's Committee, and in conjunction with the Month of Action for Gender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence, the City Women's Union organized a communication event at Son Da Secondary School in Bat Bat commune. A large number of officials, women's union members, and students participated, dressed in vibrant orange costumes, and performed a folk dance to the song "CLICKING" to convey the theme message of this year's Month of Action: "Gender Equality and Safety for Women and Girls in the Digital Age."

We also organized communication activities in response to Vietnam Girls' Day and Vietnam Law Day (November 9th) for over 600 students and more than 300 officials and members; and organized two communication and consultation workshops on screening and early detection of breast cancer and cervical cancer for 1200 female officials and members…

Simultaneously, local Women's Union branches proactively organized activities in response to the Action Month through various diverse and rich forms, such as: disseminating knowledge and skills, communication, legal assistance, etc. This raised awareness among cadres and female members about gender equality and the prevention and response to violence against women and children, especially in cyberspace.

- With the theme "Gender equality and safety for women and girls in the digital age," what are the key directions and tasks of the City Women's Union in 2026?

- 2026 is a year of many important events for the country, including the 14th National Congress of the Party, and the elections for National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels for the 2026-2031 term.

The Resolution of the 17th City Women's Congress identified the goal as "Promoting gender equality, representing and caring for the comprehensive development of women, and preparing them for a new era…". Following the directives of General Secretary To Lam at the 95th anniversary celebration of the Vietnam Women's Union, and the guidance of the Central Presidium of the Vietnam Women's Union, the City Women's Union decided to launch the campaign to build families based on the "5 No's, 3 Cleanliness, and 3 Safeties" principles. This campaign specifically clarifies the "3 Safeties" criteria (safety, peace of mind, and well-being) in the digital space, contributing to building a friendly, equal, and inclusive online environment for women and girls; building the digital woman; and enhancing women's digital capabilities.

Media coverage of "The Month of Action for Gender Equality and Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence in 2025". Photo: PV

We will propose specific projects to support women in accessing and applying digital technology in economic development and entrepreneurship. This is especially important to narrow the digital divide between men and women, ensuring that women are not left behind in the wave of digital transformation.

Women's associations at all levels will leverage the advantages of the digital space to disseminate information and contribute to the success of the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and deputies to People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term. This includes ensuring that at least 35% of the total number of people on the official list of candidates for the National Assembly and People's Councils are women; and striving to achieve a success rate of approximately 30% of the total number of People's Council deputies.

Increasing the proportion of women in leadership positions in government agencies is not only a manifestation of gender equality but also ensures that women's voices are heard in policy decisions.

Thank you very much, comrade!

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/binh-dang-gioi-and-an-toan-cho-phu-nu-trong-ky-nguyen-so-726863.html