The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee and the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) will work together to increase the rate of women in the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels to 35 percent in the 2016-2021 tenure.

Delegates at the signing ceremony. Photo: daidoanket.vn

The two organizations signed a cooperation program to this purpose on December 31, 2014 in Hanoi. The program is part of a project on enhancing women’s leadership capacity for international integration funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

They will coordinate activities in the organization of NA and People’s Council elections, including recommending female candidates, monitoring the election process and conducting communication campaigns to raise the public awareness about gender equality and the role and capacity of women.

To realize the target, it is essential to begin preparing lists of candidates as from this year, President of the VFF Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan said at the signing ceremony.

Increasing the number of women in the National Assembly and People’s Councils is not only the request of the Party but also the wish of women and society in general, he noted.

At present, the rate of female deputies in the NA is 24.4 percent, and in People’s Councils at provincial level - 25.7 percent. At district level, the rate is 24.6 percent and grassroots level - 27.7 percent.

In 1997, Vietnam was among the ten countries with the highest percentage of women in parliament in the world. However, the country dropped to the 44th place in 2012 with the percentage falling to 24.4 percent from 26.2 percent in 1997.

Resolution No.11-NQ/TW adopted by the Politburo in April 2007 and the National Strategy on Gender Equality in 2011-2020 aim to have at least 35 percent of deputies being women in the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels.

Source: VNA