From "5 don'ts" to "5 yes's": Affirming the position and core role of women.

Editor's Note: Over the past 15 years, the "Building a Family with 5 No's and 3 Cleanliness Standards" campaign has not only been a women's movement but has also created a strong ripple effect, helping members and women improve their lives, cultivate family values, and beautify their villages. This has affirmed the pivotal role of the Vietnam Women's Union in linking gender equality with sustainable development.

HanoiMoi Newspaper is pleased to present to readers a series of articles: From "5 No's" to "5 Yes's": Affirming the core position and role of women.

Lesson 1: 15 years of "5 no's, 3 clean's"

After 15 years of implementation, the "Building a Family with 5 No's and 3 Cleanliness Standards" campaign (where the 5 no's are: No poverty, no law violations, no domestic violence, no malnourished or school-dropping children, and no violations of population policies; the 3 cleanliness standards are: Clean house, clean kitchen, clean alley) has become a widespread movement, reaching every home and every village, creating clear changes in each family and spreading strongly throughout the community.

To awaken the sense of responsibility and pride in Vietnamese women.

The campaign's criteria went beyond mere slogans, becoming concretized through specific, practical models, projects, and tasks tailored to the conditions of each locality and region.

The Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union awarded outstanding collectives for their achievements in implementing the "Building a Family with 5 No's and 3 Cleanliness Standards" campaign. Photo: Minh Trang

In particular, since 2016, the campaign has been included by the Prime Minister in the National Target Program for building new rural areas. In the 2021-2025 period, its scope was expanded with the focus on "Cultivating, preserving, and developing the Vietnamese family value system," thereby directly contributing to the implementation of 11 out of 19 criteria for new rural areas, clearly affirming the prominent role and mark of the Association.

During the period 2010-2020, the movement truly took root in daily life, through simple yet meaningful actions: flower-lined roads cared for by women themselves, "Houses of Love" built in flood-affected areas; and legal and family skills training courses brought to villages and hamlets. More than 90,000 poor households headed by women have escaped poverty, and tens of thousands of self-managed roads and "5 No's, 3 Cleanliness" models have been established, creating changes and affirming the role of women in building new rural areas.

Entering the 2021-2025 period, the movement has undergone a strong transformation with many initiatives and innovations, keeping pace with the demands of the new context: Over 18,000 projects and tasks registered to participate in building new rural areas have been completed; over 10,000 environmental protection models adapting to climate change have been created; millions of women have received social welfare support and access to health insurance; tens of thousands of communication and training courses have helped women improve their life skills, parenting skills, entrepreneurship, and economic development. This is a step forward that takes the movement beyond the household, becoming a community driving force, linking women's responsibility to sustainable development.

Street art project by women in Tay Ho ward. Photo: Bao Lam

Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Vietnam Women's Union, affirmed that, looking back over 15 years, the campaign's impact is etched through very ordinary yet emotionally rich models: from clean, tidy, and warm "three-clean" houses; vibrant flower-lined roads throughout the countryside; "Women Living Green" and "Turning Waste into Money" models spreading environmentally friendly lifestyles; to "Safe Homes for Women and Children" becoming a solid support for vulnerable lives…

Each model not only brings practical results but also ignites confidence, awakens a sense of responsibility, love, and pride among Vietnamese women on their journey to jointly build a new rural area.

Combating poverty and increasing economic empowerment.

The criterion of "Eliminating poverty" has always been considered the foundation and top priority in the activities of the Association. Leveraging its role as a socio- political organization with a wide network, the Vietnam Women's Union has effectively implemented entrusted loan programs.

Specifically, the Vietnam Women's Union has the highest outstanding policy credit balance among socio-political organizations, with over 180 trillion VND lent to 2.8 million households.

Over the past 15 years, the Association has helped 210,250 households escape poverty, supported the establishment of 666 cooperatives and 838 cooperative groups, and created jobs for nearly 3,000 female workers. The Association at all levels has also supported over 57,000 women in starting businesses, with more than 41,000 ideas realized, and 239,000 women receiving training to improve their management and business skills.

These impressive figures are not only a financial achievement but also a testament to the improvement in the quality of life, autonomy, and elevated status of women in the family and society.

Traditional craft products are displayed and introduced at the women's fair. Photo: Van Nga.

During the period 2022-2025, the Women's Union at all levels established and operated 2,312 trusted addresses; supported 1,100 victims of domestic violence; assisted 751 victims of human trafficking; participated in resolving nearly 3,000 cases of violations of the rights and interests of women and children; established more than 10,000 "Community Communication Teams", over 18,000 happy family clubs, and 5,134 "Family with 5 No's and 3 Cleanliness Standards" clubs.

The Vietnam Women's Union implements the "3 Clean" criteria and carries out activities to mobilize and support women in protecting the environment and ensuring food safety, contributing to the new rural development criteria with creative and proactive approaches. Over 15 years, more than 10,000 environmental protection models have been implemented; 27,018 km of flower-lined/tree-lined roads have been planted. Joining forces to build new rural areas, women nationwide have donated 5.6 million m² of land, contributed millions of man-days of labor, and built tens of thousands of flower-lined roads, "4 Clean" houses, "turning waste into money" models, and "women-managed road sections".

As a unit with outstanding achievements in implementing the "Building a family with 5 no's and 3 clean's" campaign, the Hanoi City Women's Union at all levels implements the "3 clean's" criteria in conjunction with the "Anti-plastic waste" movement and other environmental criteria in building new rural areas; taking responsibility for 4,236 green, clean, and beautiful road and street sections managed by women, including planting and maintaining 2,034 road and street sections with blooming murals, and 115 "Green, clean, beautiful, and environmentally friendly cultural house" models.

Alongside this, many innovative activities and models have been replicated, such as: the "Plastic Waste Collection House" model, the "Waste-Free Road" model, the "Plastic Waste-Free Association" model; maintaining and improving the quality of "Green Living" models, "Green, Clean, Beautiful, and Environmentally Friendly Community Activity Points", "Transforming Waste into Flower Gardens", "Exchanging Recycled Materials to Preserve Greenery", "Flowers on House Gates", "Flower-lined Alleys", "Processing and Recycling of Straw After Harvest"...

At the same time, the Hanoi City Women's Union implements food safety programs to contribute to "clean homes" and "clean kitchens"; annually, it organizes the "Exhibition and Introduction of Safe Agricultural Products and Food" Fair, the "Food Safety Knowledge Contest," etc.

A remarkable achievement is that over 91% of households have met the criteria of "Five No's, Three Cleanliness Standards" and "Civilized and Happy Families". Over the past 15 years, Hanoi has helped 26,044 households achieve the "Five No's, Three Cleanliness Standards" criteria.

Women from Ba Dinh district perform folk dances at Phuc Xa flower wharf. Photo: Lan Hoang.

Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and President of the Hanoi Women's Union, Le Kim Anh, affirmed: "The campaign has truly become a part of daily life, receiving widespread support from female cadres, members of the Women's Union in the capital city, and the people; the good deeds and specific models implemented by the Women's Union have contributed to bringing about changes in the homeland, and the appearance of the new rural areas is becoming increasingly vibrant."

Hai Phong is also an outstanding unit in implementing the "Building a family with 5 no's and 3 clean's" campaign. The Hai Phong Women's Union not only focuses on improving the quality of life for its members' families but also makes a significant contribution to fulfilling the criteria for building new rural areas, achieving sustainable poverty reduction, and promoting sustainable development of the city.

In particular, the Association has always been at the forefront of supporting women's economic development and sustainable poverty reduction: A total outstanding loan balance of over 6,000 billion VND managed by the Association has helped hundreds of thousands of women access capital, create livelihoods, and improve their income and living standards. The effective management and use of this policy credit has enabled women to proactively invest in production and business, thereby firmly realizing the goal of "zero poverty."

The Hai Phong Women's Union has supported capacity building for nearly 4,000 female business owners, cooperative managers, and heads of production and business households; and assisted 4,325 women in starting businesses. The Union organized hundreds of training courses on entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and product distribution; provided counseling and vocational training to 172,560 members; and introduced and created jobs for 97,100 female members, contributing to the overall poverty reduction efforts of Hai Phong city.

Thanks to comprehensive support in terms of capital, knowledge, and markets, the Hai Phong Women's Union has helped 20,035 poor and near-poor women's households escape poverty or near-poverty.

From flower-lined roads throughout the countryside, to shelters of love and compassion, to women-led cooperatives and innovative startup models, all bear the mark of the Women's Union. This contributes to enhancing the status of women in the family and society, achieving gender equality, and promoting sustainable development.

(To be continued)

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/tu-5-khong-sang-5-co-khang-dinh-vi-the-vai-role-nong-cot-cua-phu-nu-726521.html