Thao Xuan Sung (centre), chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association, gives flowers to the artists after the performance. — Photo courtesy of the UNFPA

The symphony was held at the Hanoi Opera House by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra.

The concert was part of the national action month on gender equality and prevention of violence against women and girls and 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

Addressing the concert, Trinh Thi Thuy, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: “With the pervasive power of art, with the sublimation of the emotions from the music, let's work together towards better things. Let’s join hands to eliminate backward thinking and prejudice. Let’s change perceptions and behaviours to eliminate domestic violence, discrimination between boys and girls, and inequality between women and men.”

“The home, which should be a place of love, comfort, and security, does not necessarily seem to be, for too many Vietnamese women – and for their children – a safe place to be,” she said. 

The 2019 National Study on Violence against Women, which was conducted by the Government of Vietnam with financial and technical support from UNFPA and the Government of Australia, shows that nearly two in three women (62.9 per cent) experienced one or more forms of physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence and controlling behaviours by their husbands in their lifetime.

Besides, the unbalanced sex ratio at birth was first identified in Vietnam in 2004, and since 2005, it has rapidly increased and reached 111.5 male births for every 100 female births in 2019 as indicated in the 2019 Population and Housing Census, against the biologically natural or normal sex ratios between 105 and 106. 

Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, said: “The underlying cause of all these is gender-inequality and under-valuing of girls and women, so tonight, we are gathered here for solidarity to appreciate the value of the girl child, as equal as to boys. Let the power of music brings us together. Each one of us has a unique role and a shared responsibility to address issues that affect us all towards inclusive, equitable and sustainable development in Vietnam.”  VNS

Entries invited for competition on gender-based violence against women, girls

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam is inviting entries for a competition themed “Speak Up – Take Action” to raise public awareness of gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls in Vietnam.

Catalysing change for gender equality

Great strides have been taken to empower women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing adopted an ambitious global agenda to achieve gender equality twenty-five years ago.