Developing Women’s Social Groups and Improving their Quality
The function of the Women’s Union (WU) is to meet with
women who participate in social activities at different levels. The WU has
initiated various forms of women’s social groups in accordance with specific
characteristics and operating environments for each model. The common models
are teams, groups, or clubs. Each model chooses one or two objectives and sets
goals fitting with their own members. District WU have recently developed
practical clubs in addition to microcredit and savings groups, small industry
and handicraft cooperatives, happy family clubs, and social and charitable
groups.
The social groups are made up of ‘civilized and humane
female tenants’ who are ready to support vulnerable populations such as
communities organizing and setting up women's social groups that rent houses
for immigrant female workers. These groups create 5 rules that they want tenants
to follow. For example they want prospective tenants to say "no",
when the charge for rent is too high, and when the rental house is without
clean water and electricity, etc. They are also asked to say no when several
rules are not followed that pertain to cleaning and protecting the environment
by participating in a ‘Women’s club for protecting the environment’, or a
‘Women’s legal service club’. The WU in District 10 has many initiatives for
building a club with activities to meet the needs of women.
Ms. Dao Thi Tuyet Hanh, the Director of the Institution of Central Women,
Southern Division presented examples of different kinds of women’s social group
models in the Mekong Delta provinces such as Bac Lieu province, Dong Thap
province, Ca Mau province, Vinh Long province, and Soc Trang province. These
types of social group models work on activities concerned with law, health,
environmental protection, education and poverty reduction. According to Ms.
Tuyet Hanh, the concept of a model is not yet well defined, therefore, each
province perceives and makes use of each model differently. In Vinh Long
province they have 1542 models, while Ca Mau province has only 22 models. This
indicates that at the province levels the social group models are at this time
not understood, therefore, they misinterpret the figures and the models. As a
result Ms. Tuyet Hanh has suggested that the Central Women’s Union provides a
clear definition of what a women’s social group model is and helps local
associations to understand them thoroughly, so that concrete data can be
provided by the provinces.
Regarding the women's movement participating in ensuring security and order and
security for society, there has been good experience in coordinating between
the HCMC WU and the HCMC police on the implementation of Joint Resolution # 1
"Stepping up the movement that the entire population protects national
security". In addition, clubs like “La Chan - Shield", "Niem Tin
- Faith" have gathered mothers with addicted children to share their experiences
and to prevent environmental ill effects for other children. The peer and
support groups volunteer to prevent HIV/AIDS. At the same time, other groups
called “Dia chi tin cay cua cong dong – the trusted place of the
community" propagandize and do counseling for the prevention of domestic
violence.
The HCMC Women's Charity, founded in 1989, is a non-government organization
(NGO) whose members are retired women who participate in volunteer activities
to provide scholarships to help poor children go to school, assist teenagers in
obtaining vocational skills and training, and also support the elderly. This
NGO has received funding and support from many domestic and international
organizations with whom they have had a long-term relationship. The NGO has a
good reputation due to its transparency and efficiency in its operations.
During the process of the rapid urbanization of HCMC, many apartments and
building blocks were built which dramatically attracted a large population of
middle-class intellectuals. The characteristics of the middle-class are to be
very busy with work, so they seldom have contact with the local authorities as
well as with their neighbors. Having said that, women of the middle-class
usually have a high level of education and many talents, therefore, if local
authorities could mobilize their contributions, it would bring tremendous
benefits to the community. For example, in District 4, the WU knows how to
utilize and mobilize this group of women intellectuals in their community.
Their purpose is to bring women together who live in the same neighborhood. The
District 4 WU first conducted surveys to find out the number of women in the
community, their occupations, their free time, and the activities they are
interested in. After collecting the data from the women, the WU invited them to
participate in meetings to discuss issues of concern and goals to establish a
core group. The group will communicate and mobilize all households in an apartment
building to take part in creating activities. In addition, the core group of
women will be able to become an apartment management board and together form
other sub-core groups.
Moreover, during the process of development, HCMC built more
industrial zones that have attracted a large number of immigrant female
workers. These women often-times work in the same factory, or industrial area,
or reside at the same boarding house. This social group has the advantage of
getting to know other women. Therefore, local Women’s Unions in these areas
organize activities to enhance a feeling of well-being for these female
workers, including providing free centers for periodic health examinations,
organizing cultural activities, and entertainment in their area of residence. A
very important component is that women landlords are in the majority to ensure
the safety of the female workers at their residence. This model of
compassionate and civilized accommodation is enthusiastically supported by all
stakeholders. The main objective of the model is to mobilize the landlords to
agree on and implement the following five criteria to:
- Comply with the provisions of the State on the management
of rental housing;
- Maintain sanitation, preserve urban landscape, assure clean and
well-ventilated houses, and protect the surrounding environment;
- Create favorable conditions for local authorities to disseminate regulations
and common community guidelines and mobilize female workers to engage in
neighborhood activities;
- Save electricity and water and charge the tenants an affordable rental price;
and
- Show mutual respect and assist each other when tenants are in need.
HCMC has a very large number of students. Therefore, in
order to mobilize students to participate in activities at the grassroots
level, the HCMC WU should think of ways to build and link students with
grassroots organizations and associations in order to carry out public
activities together. Students and WU staff should be trained to be
knowledgeable and have skills in social work, listening skills, and community development
skills. The WUs at the city and local levels need to strengthen cooperation
between schools and various organizations through practical projects that are
beneficial to both sides.
In conclusion, Ms. Dinh Thi Bach Mai, chairman of the HCMC
WU, highlighted the achievements of the clubs, in particular that many women
are eager to participate in numerous activities that bring not only
environmental progress to the neighborhood, an order of security to their
social environment, career development, but also employment for women. Women
from different classes are connected with each other, which results in
cultivating a more abundant local cultural life. Ms. Bach Mai also said that
the development of women's social group models requires attention to their
quality and not quantity. The women involved in these models need
training courses and guidance to learn skills to work with people in order to
serve the best interests and needs of the various classes of women.
Thai Thi Ngoc Du
Translated into English Doan Thi
Ngoc
