Vietnam promotes advancement of women

and considers them vital to reaching equality and sustainable development, according to the Viet Nam Women’s Union (WU) President.The commitment was made by WU President Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa at the 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women on February 28 in the UN headquarters.Hoa told the commission of the progress Vietnam has made while implementing the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She reported Vietnam’s marked increase in the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender-related Development Index (GDI), with Vietnam now ranking 105th of 177 countries and 91st of 157 countries, respectively. In addition, the country ranks 52nd of 93 in the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM).Hoa added that Vietnam has implemented two laws to promote the advancement of women, the Law on Gender Equality passed in November 2006, and the Law on Prevention of Family Violence passed a year later.The government has also targeted an increase in the rate of female leaders, especially in the National Assembly, with female MPs at a level of 25.76 percent. This takes Vietnam’s ranking to 28th in the world and third in Asia and the Pacific. However, the Women’s Union president said the country still faces many challenges in gender equality and equity, and called for more help from the international community and the UN in particular, in technical assistance and resources.