[jjr69] Re: Vietnam's Women Of War
- From: "Phan, Khai KT" <Khai.T.Phan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'jjr69@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <jjr69@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 10:22:16 +1100
Hello Chi. Va^n,
I think you're right, the original VN society had a matriarchal structure but,
with the Chinese domination and heavy cultural influence, we adopted the
Confucian social model (tam to`ng, tu*' du*'c, etc) and went too far down the
path of tro.ng nam khinh nu*~. However, I recall that in the old days of the
SVN government there were a few female senators in our SVN Parliament and in
the NVN Armed Forces there are quite a few high ranking female officers
(colonels and generals), so women sometimes do play an important part in our
society and, of course, as I said a few times previously, they often are the
main bread winner of the family or, at least, do contribute their share to the
family finances.
Khai
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanthdo@xxxxxxx [mailto:Vanthdo@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 4:52 PM
To: jjr69@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jjr69] Re: Vietnam's Women Of War
Hi Annette and anh Dat,
Annette, you are 100% correct about the bad lot of the women in VN. However,
please know that everywhere in the world, and even here in the U.S., women do
not really fare that much better. I have encountered very sad cases in my
pro bono work for battered women, and domestic violence is still THE big
killer of women. Women still have a long way to go to enjoy the same rate of
pay, the same treatment from employers, and the same fundamental rights as
men, despite the apparent and superficial conclusions that we have done a lot
better than before.
I don't personally think our Vietnamese culture breeds wife battering. In
fact, I tend to think that, compared to some other men, Vietnamese men tend
to be more gentle with their women (there are exceptions, of course). One of
the reasons may be because they tend to be less possessive and more detached
toward their women. This is my personal observation based on my life
experience, and what I have seen working as a legal aid lawyer among
different ethnic groups.
In addition, did not our culture start out as a matriarchal system? I am
probably wrong on this, but I vaguely remember that from my Vietnamese
Civilization Class at Dai Hoc Van Khoa some 30 years ago.
Van
EOM
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