ASEAN female parliamentarians talk gender issues

Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan has urged parliamentarians from ASEAN countries to cooperate on a closer basis to promote gender issues as part of national programmes...

Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan has urged parliamentarians from ASEAN countries to cooperate on a closer basis to promote gender issues as part of national programmes.

On addressing the opening session of a conference on the role of female parliamentarians in the legislative process in Hanoi on Nov. 30, Vice State President Doan said that she was pleased with the progress made by joint initiatives between ASEAN members, to raise the profile of women by approving a series of regional bills recognising the important role women play.

The Party and State of Vietnam have always paid attention to promoting gender equality and Vietnamese women have benefited in political, socio-economic, cultural and family life, she stressed.

At the conference, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong noted that enhancing the role of female parliamentarians in lawmaking is an important goal for every country and has been on the agenda of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) for many years.

Vietnam has made many important achievements in raising women’s input in lawmaking, state management and socio-economic development. This is highlighted by the level of women in the National Assembly as well as in elected organs, she added.

She said that she hoped female parliamentarians from AIPA members will compare notes and share their experiences on their role in lawmaking in order to find solutions to issues that women face, discuss future cooperation and contribute to improving their role and position in political and socio-economic activities.

The agenda of the two-day conference also includes the establishment of a regional cooperation mechanism for female parliamentarians to exchange information and experiences in lawmaking and gender integration.

The conference drew female parliamentarians from Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, the AIPA’s acting general-secretary I Gusti Ayu Darsini, representatives from the UN Development Programme, international organisations and several embassies in Hanoi.