Dang Thi Van Chi
Abstract
In the early twentieth
century, owing to education, Vietnamese women rethought
their social roles which prompted them to not only engage in fighting for their rights
but also for the rights of their nation. This paper utilizes information from the press and memoirs written by
female authors; it considers the Press as a channel through which women’s
consciousness is manifested. The
Press also helped promote the organization and
development of a community practice which turned Vietnamese women from a mere
social labor force into a crucial political force. This transformation
contributed to Vietnam’s social change process and its global integration.
Throughout the Vietnamese history, women have
contributed considerably to nation-building
and national defense. However, they have not
gained social statuses commensurate with their contributions. At the end of
the nineteenth century, Vietnam became a French colony.[1]
Women’s education during this
period was the most fundamental to all modern
changes
in Vietnamese women’s lives.
Owing to education, women rethought their social roles which prompted them to not only
engage in fighting for their rights but also for the rights of their nation. This paper explores the
French colonial education policy and its
influence on Vietnamese women’s lives,
focusing especially on the constitution and reconstitution of the consciousness of their social role. This paper utilizes information from the
press and memoirs written by female authors during this period.
Methodologically, I consider the Press as a channel through which women’s
consciousness is manifested. It is the channel through which women expressed their aspirations. It
also helped promote the organization and development of a community practice
which turned Vietnamese women from a mere social labor force into a crucial
political force. This transformation contributed to Vietnam’s social change
process and its global integration in the first half of the twentieth century.
Additionally, the Press
and the memoirs indicate a
change in consciousness within a specific historical context, amidst economic,
political, and cultural interactions.
No Right to Choose
Vietnam is a country located in the Indochina
Peninsula of Southeast Asia. The tropical climate with a high level of rainfall
and humidity has had its
consequences: inhabitants of Vietnam chose wet-rice cultivation as their primary economic base. Additionally, due
to
Vietnam’s strategic geographical position as a link between mainland Asia and the islands of Southeast Asia, Vietnam has historically been confronted with
territorial transgressions.
Under these conditions, Vietnamese women
had no other choice than to run
the family economy and society while the
men
were regularly absent during their service in the army.
Agricultural involvement in turn allowed women
to engage in all stages of the production process.[2]
Additionally, Vietnamese women were not excluded in the defense of the country against foreign
invasion. The images of women at war as depicted through the popular saying, “When
the invaders come, even women have to fight” (Giặc đến nhà đàn bà cũng đánh), is
often evoked.
Although
women had a crucial role in nation-building
and national defense, the influence of entrenched Confucian ideas stripped them of the right to choose. Their life
was bound both by a marriage arranged by their parents as well as by the twists and turns of that marriage. The laments of women were common:
I am like a piece
of silk (Thân em như tấm lụa đào)
Flying in the wind,
not knowing who will grab it (Phất phơ trước gió biết
vào
tay ai)
Or: I
am like a drop of rain (Thân em như
hạt mưa sa)
Dropping in a palace, dropping in the rice field (Hạt vào đài các, hạt ra
ngoài đồng)
Ho Xuan Huong, one of
Vietnam’s
prominent female poets, only put forth a limited
aspiration during her time:
Supposing
that I could become a man (Ví đây đổi
phận làm trai được)
How glorious would be the
heroic enterprise (Sự
nghiệp anh hùng há bấy
nhiêu)
There was also an angry
popular poem on the practice of polygamy:
Damn
the life with a shared husband! (Chém cha cái kiếp lấy chồng chung)
Vietnam has had
a long history of Confucian learning, and the education of women in its
feudal society was limited to the teaching of compliance, that is, women were
required to fulfill their responsibilities to the family. The education of women was considered an element of family education as seen through prominent publications such as Gia huấn (Family Teaching) and Nữ huấn (Woman Teaching). In Khuyết
Hiến ca, the ideas of Confucian scholars on the education of women were clear: whether a woman
complies or not depends on her family; their compliance is related
to the success or failure of the ethics of the family’s internal affairs. As a
result, teaching should be
compulsory.[3]
To fulfill this need, large clans and key intellectuals such as Ho Phi Tich,
Bui Duong Lich, Dang Xuan Bang, and Nguyen Tong Khue, to cite only a few,[4]
prepared different types of teaching manuals on teaching women and the family. The contents of the manuals were mostly
presented in the form of rhymed verses of
the six-eight “luc
bat” poetic
style
which was easy to memorize. The contents
of Family Teaching highlighted Confucian
filial
piety, the spirit of patriotism, Buddhist self-sacrifice and
compassion, and the spirit of community (Dang Thi Van Chi, 2011). For women, Family Teaching and Woman Teaching not only focused on the “three submissions” and the “four
virtues” but also provided guidance on all aspects of social relations – from
the time when they still lived with their parents to the time when they married and
became the head of a household.
In Family Teaching and Woman Teaching, women were taught to live up to a particular feudal
ethical standard within the Confucian framework in relation to their parents
and husbands, both in life and death. These manuals were passed through generations as key textbooks
for the education of women.
Vietnamese history
records a substantial number of
women who fought against foreign invasion
such as the Trung Sisters,[5]
Lady Trieu,[6]
and Bui Thi Xuan,[7] to
cite a few. There were also many female Vietnamese who became legends owing to
their intellectual contributions such as the poets Ho Xuan Huong,[8]
Lady Huyen Thanh Quan,[9]
and Doan Thi Diem.[10]
Nonetheless, the majority of Vietnamese women did not have a chance to receive a formal education and as a result did
not have a chance to participate in the official ruling apparatus at either the national or village level.
Although official histories do not record much on
women’s contributions,
their image as helpers
who contributed considerably to economic life as well as their crucial position
in the family and society were reflected in popular sayings and proverbs,[11]
through official legal stipulations,[12]
and in folk culture and beliefs.[13]
This recognition has become imprinted upon
the national essence and tacitly implies
the
underlying power of Vietnamese women.
Opportunities
From the beginning, the
French emphasized the reform of Vietnam’s education system in the context of other policies and programs
aimed at colonial exploitation. At the end of the nineteenth century
Vietnam became a French colony and Vietnamese society was rapidly integrated into the French-capitalist
sphere. The French implemented its educational policy in several
phases. Right after they seized the southern region of Nam Ky, the French established
a number of new schools and gradually modified the educational content of
the schools at the commune, district,
and provincial levels, introducing the French language into these schools. At
that time, one priority was to train a new group of Vietnamese who could
collaborate with the French and help them manage the newly-occupied territory. Although this policy of providing education to women did not receive universal support from French colonial officials, through the Press
we have learned that there were Vietnamese mandarins such as Luong Du Thuc
(from the Ben Tre area in the south) and Petrus Ky who deserved credit as
advocates of schools for girls. Luong Du Thuc wrote: “I would like to ask the government to set up schools to teach girls.
During a consultative meeting with the authorities, when I asked, the Resident
Superior of the southern region of Nam Ky concurred and later ordered the
responsible the provincial-level unit to set up girl schools.” (Nông cổ mín
đàm, 28 Aug. 1902). Although the objective of
an education for girls at that time was merely
to “uplift their spirit and morals
and to increase their self-esteem and self-respect” (Petrus Ký) (Trinh Van Thao, 1995, p.95) as well as to help them “to better carry out their role as wives and mothers” (Luong Du Thuc, NCMĐ, 28 Aug. 1902), the
calls from these relatively open-minded mandarins prompted the opening of
schools for girls in the southern
region of Nam Ky. This explains why in the southern region of Nam Ky, the
number of students was higher than in other regions. The romanized script, or
quoc ngu, was also used early in the southern region before the emergence of
the Vietnamese language press.
After occupying
the entire territory of Vietnam, the French extended its educational policy to
cover the entire country. In 1886, although the total number of students in
French schools was 27,473, there were still around 8,496 students, or 31% of
the total, who followed classes taught by Confucian scholars in rural areas. Although
the French cultural policy in Vietnam had its limitations, it brought about a
profound change in Vietnam’s cultural and social
life. For the first time in Vietnam’s history, women were given an opportunity to officially attend
school. By 1886, the southern region of Nam Ky had set up seven girl schools
with 922
female students.[14] In the northern region of Bac Ky, there were four girl
schools.[15]
Overall, the
Franco-Vietnamese school system consisted of three levels and lasted 13 years.
The primary level lasted six years.[16] The post-primary level lasted four years. Often, this
was called a college level which offerred a post-primary certificate (Diplôme
d'Études Primaires Supérieurs Franco-Indigènes) after graduation. The secondary
level lasted three years and entitled the graduates to a French-Vietnaemse
baccalaureate.[17]
Post-primary school colleges (trường
Cao Đẳng Tiểu học) with four-year programs were also established for female students who had graduated from a six-year primary school,
although they existed only in Hanoi (Trung Vuong School), Hue (Dong Khanh
School), and Saigon (Gia Long or Áo Tim School).
Secondary schools which offered
baccalaureates for both boys and girls were
also established in Hanoi (Buoi School), Hue (Khai Dinh
School), and Saigon (Petrus Ky School). A school exclusively for girls, the Brieux School, was opened on January 6,
1908 in Hanoi and admitted 178 students.[18] By the 1922-1923 school year, the
number of students at the primary school level reached 129 (Trinh
Van Thao, 1995, p.130). Dong Khanh Girl School in Hue was subsequently opened for
admission in 1917. During the 1922-1923 academic year, the number of students
was 358, of which 35 were secondary-level students (Trinh Van Thao, 1995, 1930).
In 1930, the number of female students in the Central Region
(Trung ky) was 1,986, of which 47 were studying to become
teachers and 494 were studying at the post-primary college level (Nguyen
Vy, 2006, p.92). In Saigon, the first girl school was the Áo Tím (Purple Uniform) School which was opened on
September 19, 1915. During its first year, it had 42 girls from the city and
nearby provinces. The school offerred classes from kindergarten to college
level. After graduating, students received a primary school certificate. By
September 1922, the school had admitted 226 primary students and 24 secondary
students (Trinh Van Thao, 1995, p.130). At first, students were divided into two
groups: the teaching-training group (that is, those training to become teachers), and the
general education group. After graduation, the students received a post-primary
college certificate.
In 1917, education regulations officially known as General Public Instruction Regulations (Học chính Tổng
Quy) were promulgated throughout the whole of French Indochina. They demanded that together
with the establishment of primary schools at the commune level for boys,
provinces should also establish at least one school for girls. In the case that
there was no separate school for girls, boys and girls could attend the same
school, but the school had to organize separate teaching for girls.
Post-primary Colleges were set up in Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon only; there was no
separate secondary school for girls to obtain a local Vietnamese baccalaureate (tú tài bản xứ).
From a
comparative perspective, the number of female students was small :
Table 1: Statistic of total
number of girls students/total number of students in 1929, 1930 - 1931,
1938-1939, 1941, 1942 (Source: Đàn Bà paper, 1942) (Trịnh
Văn Thảo, 1995)
Year
|
Famale student
|
Total
number of students
|
Percentage
|
1929
|
30,000
|
112,920
|
24%
|
1930-1931
|
38,984
|
319,792
|
12%
|
1938-1939
|
72,000
|
524,322
|
13%
|
1941-1942
|
92,129
|
616,975
|
13%
|
Students were concentrated in major urban centers (including
cities or district towns); the number of students in rural areas was small.
Table 2: Statistic
of total number of female students
in rural areas/total number of female students in 1929 (Source: Nam phong, 9/1929)
Year
|
No. of female students in rural areas/total number of
female students
|
Total no. of
students in rural areas/total no of students
|
1929
|
965/30,000
|
25,502/112,920
|
The number of female students in the upper educational
level was low. For the year 1941-1942, the number was as follows:
Table 3: Statistic of total
number of female students attending the elementary and primary level, Post-primary female students, Secondary
school female students in 1941-1942 (Source:
Trinh Văn Thao, 1995, p.149)
Year
|
Total
|
Female students attending the elementary and primary
level
|
Post-primary female students
|
Secondary school female students
|
1941-1942
|
92,129
|
90,996
|
1,096
|
37
|
Nonetheless, there were students who continued
on to the University of Indochina. Colleges of Medicine,
Teaching Training, and Agriculture also admitted female students. In 1941-1942,
vocational schools had admitted around 900 female students
(Trinh Van Thao, 1995, p.152). The
number of female teachers reached about 1,000 (Nguyen Van Ky,
1995, p.138). These
numbers, although small, indicated a considerable change in the life of
Vietnamese women in particular and Vietnamse society in general.
Regarding the French educational
program for girls, the General Public Instruction Regulations stated that during each day, time had to be
allocated for girls to study home economics. In school, students were required
to communicate in French.[19]
A memoir of a female student, Nguyen Thi Hong Van, born
in 1935 at Hanh Thien Village, Phu Xuan Truong, Nam Dinh, described female education in a
girl school of a provincial town (that is, Xuan Truong) in 1942 as follows: [20]
[It was] a small school
with a grass field used as a playground. Classes were divided into three sets of rows with tables
arranged in columns. The outermost rows were reserved for class 5
students, which was the first grade, while the middle section was reserved for
class 4 students
[Grade II] and the other outer
rows were for class 3 students [Grade III]. Each class had around
20 students. The teacher’s table was in the middle. On the wall, there was a
poster of human
anatomy to be used in conjunction with class instruction. The class had two
blackboards on the left and right hand sides of the room. They were
not hung on the wall but were placed on wooden legs so that the teacher could
turn them around and use the other side when needed. At the end of the room was a simple wooden
cubboard where teaching aids were kept. On the two walls were weekly class
schedules for all the classes […] At that time,
we studied two sessions every day. We started our class, stopped for a break, and ended our day following the
sound of the drum … Hearing the drum signal the class time, we immediately
formed a double line and marched to class regardless of whether we were in the
middle of running rounds or in the middle of our restful moments. At the class
entrance were two students assigned to inspect our manner: whether our dresses were
buttoned, whether our hair looked neat, whether our trousers look straight, or
whether our hands were dirty.
[If our manner was bad] we were warned and corrected. If needed, the
assigned inspectors informed the teacher who would impose some kind of penalty.
The common form of penalty, whether because we did not memorize our lessons,
whether we created disorder in class, or whether we lacked the required
cleanliness, was for us to kneel down behind the blackboards or be struck on the palms of our hands. At the end of class in the evening, we were sent out on the playground
for physical education. On Thursday mornings, students who had mishaps were taken to the Thuong Phuc health station
for medicine … Every Saturday afternoon, the teacher reserved one hour to read
to the class stories that had been printed in children books, called pink
books. There were times when the teacher taught us how to sing.
Because
there were three classes in one room, our teacher had to prepare three sets of
instructions and deliver them all
at the same time. For example, at the beginning of
each class, she wrote something on the blackboard for class 5 students to
practice writing, then she gave math exercises for class 4 students to work on, while she worked
with class 3 students on dictation. Although she had to teach three programs at
the same time, she never got confused; the class progressed orderly. Even when
studying class 5 which is the first class, we had to study French for the
vocabulary period. When we moved up to class 4 [Grade II], we did dictation in French and when we were in
class 3 [Grade III], we used French to compose our short writings appropriate to
our level. Among some different subjects [geometry, history, geography, biology, composition,
ethics, grammar, and home economics], I liked history the most. At that time, we used the history book written by Tran Trong Kim Nguyễn Thị Hồng Vân,1993)
Textbooks used in Franco-Vietnamese
schools were mostly “duplicates”; they followed the textbooks used
in the French educational system but left out content considered potentially
dangerous or “destructive” to colonial rule, especially those found in history,
geography, and literature books. It is plausible to say that Western influence
on female students was strong. These students were called “new ladies” (co gai moi or tan nu luu) by society.
The women who were educated and
literate served as the foundation for the rise of women’s forums and new genres of press for women in Vietnam. At the
beginning of the twentieth century, particularly after the First
World War, most Vietnamese newspapers had forums for women.[21] In 1918, the first women’s newspaper, Nu Gioi Chung, appeared,
and by the 1930s, women’s newspapers had become a prominent genre in Vietnam.
During the period when the women’s movement reached its peak, all three regions
of Vietnam had women’s newspapers and since then, there has not
been a time without
the publication of a women’s newspaper. When one was closed down, others came
into existence. All of the women’s newspapers stated their mottos clearly: they were “written for women by women” (Viet Nu Newspaper), and “a flagship for action based on
progressive ideas with the direct interests of our sisters” (Phu Nu Newspaper).
Women’s forums and newspapers were
platforms where women gained experience writing articles, and through them they expressed their aspirations
and opinions on social and gender
issues. When most Vietnamese-language newspapers were censored by colonial authorities, Vietnamese
patriots borrowed women’s words to express their thoughts and attitudes on French policies and to evoke patriotism and a spirit of national responsibiliy
in the face of national fate. David Marr was correct when he argued that “women and society had become
reference points around which other problems were constructed. Hundreds of
books and newspaper articles were published on all issues. Women became
conscious that they formed a group of societal members who were confronted with particular inequalities and who had
particular needs” (Marr, 1995). Through the Press, women for the
first time had the opportunity to express their hopes and thoughts on social
and national questions as a concerned social force that shared the plight of
common inequality. This was a new consciousness influenced by the new
democratic ideas within the context of East-West cultural interactions.
Imagining the Nation: Memory of the
National History and the Assertion of Women’s Role in Society
Education undoubtedly helped women formulate their voice. The
printed press provided a forum where they could focus on women’s issues, and the
articles written by women first and foremost indicate the ways in which they
perceived society, family, and their role.
First published on February 2, 1918, the first women’s newspaper Nu Gioi Chung (The bell of women)
presented in one of its early issues the notion of motherhood and wifehood. The main argument
was that women contributed to society if they excelled in being a “commander-in-chief” at home (nội tướng) and if they adhered to a “moral female path” (đạo đàn bà), a “husband-wife ethic” (đạo vợ chồng),
and were able assistants to the parents, the husband, and the children (giúp cha, giúp mẹ, giúp chồng, giúp
con). The “nation-state-community” (nước, quốc gia, dân tộc) was
perceived as a conglomerate of villages and families; the role of maintaining harmony in the family was a contribution to the nation-state
because “when the family is harmonized, the
village and the nation will also be harmonized, and harmonization breeds and
nurtures good customary practices which in turn faciliate governance,
which itself is the
foundation of peace and stability” (trong một nhà hoà
thuận, thì trong một làng và một nước cũng được hoà thuận, đã được hoà thuận
thì phong tục tốt, phong tục tốt thì bề chánh trị dễ xử đoán, chính trị dễ xử
đoán thì trong nước được bình an) (Sương Nguyệt Anh,[22] Nữ
giới chung, 15 Mar. 1918).
The discussion of “women’s rights” (nữ quyền) in NGC indicates that at the beginning of the
twentieth century, democratic ideals and the influence of international
women’s movements had a major impact on the consciousness of Vietnamese women.
Nonetheless, their consciousness of equality was limited to only
assertions of rights to education and employment. Within the context of
international integration, they were aware that books written for women in the
past had concentrated mainly on ethics, teaching women to fulfill their
responsiblities based on the principle of the “three submissions.” At that
point, NGC
had been in-print for only five months. Its last issue was released on July
19, 1918. During the ten-year period after the
First World
War (1914-1918), Vietnam did not have any other women’s newspapers
with the exception of the Women Periodical (Tạp chí Phụ nữ) published in Hue in 1926, itself a component of the
Association for Women’s Work of Hue (Hội Nữ công Huế). In this period, the
French carried out their
second program on the exploitation of Indochina,
during which major policy changes were initiated,
including an expansion of women’s education which led to an increase in
the number of schooled girls. Together with social change, Vietnam’s economy and culture were heavily influenced by the French
exploitation program as well as the post-war international women’s movements.
Vietnamese women further changed their perception of the idea of women’s rights itself. Their perception was
reinforced by their contact with the overall political movement unfolding in
schools. During this period, Vietnam’s
nationalist press, published by patriotic
intellectuals,
confirmed their belief that Vietnam had
a
patriotic tradition of defending national independence and freedom. It also reminded
them that they were the descendants of female heroes, such as the two Trung Sisters and
Lady Trieu who had
engaged in struggles
against foreign invaders,
and that they had to be responsible for national independence and freedom. Nam
Kieu (also known as Tran Huy Lieu[23]),
in Dong Phap thoi bao (Eastern-
France Times) had criticized the popular verse that eulogized the role of
the elite and degraded the role of women which read “The citadel is built by the king, why do we need the widowed
to take care of it night and day?” (Thành đổ đã có Vua Chúa xây, Can chi gái goá lo ngày lo
đêm). He
lamented that it had a detrimental effect as it diminished the role of
women in
the family and excluded them from being responsible for the fate of the nation.
He observed: “Do not say that the citadel does not have to be taken
care of by
these ladies. Think about the two Trung Sisters and Lady Trieu Au who by
themselves fought the invading troops. If the popular saying were
correct, why would there have been a need for the two sisters to take charge and for Lady Trieu
to risk her
life?”
(Nam Kiều, Đông Pháp Thời Báo, 13 Mar. 1929).
The consciousness
of their role in the fate of the nation
encouraged many women to participate in political struggles and to support Vietnamese patriots. This support included a call for
amnesty for the prominent Phan Boi Chau[24] who had been given a death sentence as a
result of his anti-French struggle and his call for national independence. Women participated in the funeral march
for Phan Chau Trinh[25]
a democratic activist. They also participated in protests in support of Bui
Quang Chieu[26]
who advocated democratic freedom for the Vietnamese people, the Yen Bai
uprising by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party and its attempt to forge national liberation through the use
of violence, and in
communist organizations
that advocated women’s participation in the national liberation
revolution. Many female activists were arrested and imprisoned by the French,
including Dam Phuong,[27]
Phan Thi Nga,[28]
Tran Thi Nhu Man,[29]
Nguyen Thi Minh Khai,[30]
and Nguyen Thi Luu.[31]
Towards 1930, Vietnam saw the rise of the class of “new women” (tan nu luu) in society. They were active in
journalism, propagating new thinking on democracy and women’s rights as well as responsibilities
in society and their active role in political
and social movements. Specifically, after the publication of Phu nu tan van (New Women Literature) in
May 1929, between
1930 and 1945 there were approximately ten
Vietnamese women newspapers in print,
forming a current of
women’s newspapers
for women and by women.[32]
Through an analysis of press articles by women
during this period, we see a major change in the way in which women perceived
their role and position in society. In
1929,
Phu nu tan van (New Women Literature)
organized a contest on topics such as “Should we praise or condemn Ms. Kieu?”
and “Writing
Contest on the Moral
Virtues of Women” which still focused on the image of a woman
as a family person based on the Confucian principles of the three submissions and four virtues.[33]
By 1935, however, the image of woman had changed. Đàn Bà mới (New Women) had an opinion survey titled “Comparing Jeanne D’Arc
and the Two Trung Sisters, who should receive
more respect?” [Đàn bà mới-29 July, 1935].
Responses from female readers showed a considerable change in perception. Of the 763 respondents, 525 answered that the two Trung Sisters
deserved more respect. The reason
most often given was that the two Trung Sisters were more patriotic.
Ms. Bich Thu, for example, commented that the two Trung Sisters deserved
respect because they were confident in themselves in risking their lives to take revenge for the family and the
nation (liều mình ra báo thù cho nhà, rửa nhục cho nước), while Jeanne
D’Arc did not deserve as much respect because she fought against a foreign invader based on religious
belief – following a
call, and being assisted by, God. Those who responded that Jeanne D’Arc deserved more respect largely reasoned that the
Trung Sisters’ uprising against the Han-Chinese invaders was motivated by their wish to take revenge on behalf of
one of the sister’s
husbands. Despite their different opinions,
the respondents’ answers shared common themes of patriotism, struggle against foreign invasion, and national independence as evaluation
criteria. This indicates
that in their values,
the nation and the ethnic
community were sacred, requiring individual sacrifices in an impartial and selfless way.
In another opinion
survey organized by Đàn Bà mới,[34]
responses showed that the concept of equality between the sexes was becoming more prominent. In one response, Ms. Bich Ngoc stated: “the
wife is a person as much as the husband and she should have the right to do
whatever he does […] whoever is more
intelligent has the right to take charge of social affairs.”
Consciousness of Human Rights and the Struggle for
Women’s Liberation and
Equality between the Sexes
In addition to democratic ideals and French cultural influence, awareness of individual freedom had an effect of igniting
a reconsideration of the old moral values such as chastity, polygamy, familism and the three
submissions, and blazed new ideas of
marital choice, and freedom to happiness.
Phu nu tan
van published a series of critical articles against feudal morals.[35] The
authors, especially Phan Khoi, began with an
investigation of how Confucian theory related to
women, such as on the topic of the rights of
divorced and widowed women. Phan Khoi also asked whether the
principle of the three submissions and four virtues were still
appropriate. Finally, he concluded that “a law that
prohibited divorced and widowed women from remarriage was unjust and unethical; it violated the
rights and interests of
women and does not contribute to modernization.
Getting rid of this law is just.” (Phụ nữ Tân văn, 13 Aug. 1931)
In addition to reconsidering the value of
chastity and the imposition of certain regulations on divorced or widowed
women, people throughout society began to question the principle
of the three submissions and argued that it was no longer suitable as women
needed to
participate in all social affairs. “Women
are offering their intelligence and labor, and for men to keep them under the principle of the
three-submissions is a
self-contradiction.” This newspaper article borrowed a phrase from one
of John Stuart Mill’s writings for its conclusion: “Men forcing women to
be submissive is an act against humanism and justice” (Công
Luận, 5 May 1932).
This reconsideration of moral and ethical
values was
clearly manifested in the results of surveys from readers’ opinions published in New
Women. The April, 1935 issue of New
Women surveyed the question “Should divorced or widowed women be able to remarry?”
Of 24 respondents, 17 were of the opinion that they should be allowed the freedom. Many
readers commented that the restrictions on divorced and widowed
women were an imposition and the
demand that they devote their lives to raising children
alone was “a crime and inhumane.” Later, in June,
1935, another survey in the same magazine entitled “If
a wife is
barren, should the husband seek a minor wife?” continued to show the changing attitude on
polygamy – a rather
substantial change
compared
with accepted norm at the
beginning of the twentieth century.[36] Another
survey entitled “Should Self-Liberation
be Allowed?” raised
the question of how a wife should react if her husband
left her for another woman. Here again, the results showed a change in attitude: 12 of the 14 respondents
supported a woman’s right to liberate herself from the
marriage.[37]
In the 1930s, a series
of suicides took
place in major cities such as Hanoi and Saigon, that was labeled “a suicide-plague” (nạn dịch tự tử) by the Press. The phenomenon
was considered as stemming from forced or arranged marriages and the
spirit of the mega-family. Phụ nữ tân văn
(NewWomen Literature)
commented that the deaths of the young
women occurred because of
the male-oriented family structure, and that these deaths could be considered as an alarm
that informed society on the injustice of feudal ethics. Ms. Nguyễn Đức Nhuận[38] called
it, “a fixed,
one-dimensional social principle” because “to date, there have been no
men who have committed
suicide in the name of chastity.” She
commented, “The use of
suicide as a weapon will not be as good as the organization of ourselves for a
new principle and system of equality” (Phụ nữ Tân văn, 26 Nov. 1931).
Under the title Women and Love, Thach Lan wrote, “The
concept of love that appears in
society is supportive of women’s
rights.” Women may
discuss love and demand the freedom to love, that is, we may stand
amidst different social groups and proclaim that we are not objects for men to
arrange at will, we are also human beings like men and as such we should have
the right to choose our spouses” (Phụ
nữ Tân văn, 13 Aug. 1931). Thach Lan commented on Phan Khoi’s statement[39] that
love outside marriage was inappropriate, arguing instead that “if marriages and clans were not
built on love, then marriage
and clan would be inappropriate” (hôn nhân nào, gia tộc nào không do ái tình
gây nên thì cũng là chuyện bá láp) (Phụ nữ Tân văn, 13 Aug. 1931).
Freedom of marriage had also become a slogan in the communist movement. As a
result, the peasant and worker revolutionary movements under the leadership of
the Communist Party merged and harmonized with the movement that advocated
freedom of marriage and the women’s liberation movement.
In the 1940s, for the first time, the “rights of
women to love” was mentioned as an element of the equality of the sexes;
women’s entitlement to happiness in their marriage were also emphasized (Đàn bà, 1 Aug. 1939). One article commented that in
the past, especially under feudalism, attention was given to the husband’s needs and
wants, and women had to be submissive. This was injustice and “a
value bias for women.” A good, progressive and fair husband had to learn to
maintain the spirit and health of his wife. The article concluded: “if the
rights of women in love were not extended and not understood correctly by men, and if the way in which women loved was not
respected, the foundation of the reason would be
in jeopardy – prostitution would continue and true love would never
emerge in a society where men abused their power as husbands” (Đàn bà, 18 Aug. 1939). Đàn bà mới also
discussed the art of the husband-wife interaction as well as the first night of
the marriage.
Rethinking of the Old Moral Value and
the Rise of Ideal Images of Women
The discussion of “new
women” in the 1930s indicated that society was forced to rethink the
image of the ideal
women by distinguishing “the old” from “the new.” Women
newspapers were enthusiastic about an ideal woman based on a
harmonization of good traditional Eastern traits and crystallized
features of Western civilization. New
Women posed a problem: “There must be a definition of the
new” (Đàn bà mới, 26 Aug. 1935), in attempting to understand “in
our current society, what is meant by new woman” (Đàn bà mới, 24
Aug. 1936), and “how important the position of the new woman
in the family and society is” (Đàn bà mới, 5 Oct. 1936).
When comparing “old” and “new”
women, Chung Thi Van portrayed the image of the old woman
as one
who continually sacrificed her life. She also observed:
“all were moved by this image: moved, as the woman devoted her
life to her family, and melancholic as the woman carried
on with her life without actually living.”
According to the author, “Before realizing their responsibility
in society, a woman
needs
to understand that she has a life. This is her
key task:
the task
to become a human being. New women,
in fact,
are not inferior to their former counterparts in the realm of the family.
Additionally, new women have a perspective on their position and responsibility
in society” (Đàn bà mới, 24 Aug. 1936).
The authors attempted to distinguish
between fake and real new women without assuming that all new women should be
criticized. Ms. Kim Cham argued that it was a mistake “to mix
those with thick make-up on and who earn their living by
prostituting themselves with those who may put some make-up on but
were not that decadent,” or when categorizing those not following the
conservative path as belonging to the other group. At that time
there were a lot of women who had professions and
who were still able to responsibly take
care of their families (Đàn bà mới, 26 Aug. 1935).
Van Tam,
from another newspaper, commented that new women would be those
wives who took
care
of their families
but
who were also active in social affairs (Đàn bà mới, 24 Aug. 1936).
Mong Thu and Nguyen Thi Minh Ph also commented that it would be respectable if “our
sisters followed
the new both in its forms and spirit and thus understood
the word ‘new’ the way it is meant” (Đàn bà mới, 5
Oct. 1936).
The story of Ms. Nguyen Huu Thi Lan who became Queen Nam Phuong
was considered an icon
of the new class of women, that is, a
woman,
well-educated,
who could still retain the traditional style. Tu Hoa, a writer, commented that
if Ms. Lan had not been considered a modern woman who had had a chance to study
in the West, been exposed to civilized practices, and been familiar with the
Western spirit,
or if she had not been allowed to socialize
freely,
she probably would not have been chosen as
queen. This event confirmed the current trend that even women could not avoid
the influence of the civilization and education from the West. As a result, Tu
Hoa concluded: “our
sisters should study to the extent that
they
can but no matter how advanced they become, they should still retain the spirit
of the Vietnamese people” (Hoàn cầu tân văn, 12 Apr. 1934).
Van Tam, another writer,
put forth a number of conditions regarding “new women in the present-day
society.” First and foremost, they would have to relinquish four bad psychological
traits, including lack of self-reliance, jealousy,
craving for personal prestige, and selfishness (ỷ lại, ghen ghét, hiếu danh, ích kỷ), and five bad practices
including gambling, superstition, lack of realism, laziness, and thoughtless
risk-taking (đánh bạc, mê tín, xa xỉ, lười biếng, nhắm mắt làm liều). They
need to acquire four positive conditions: morality, intelligence, sports, and
skills (đạo đức, trí thức, thể thao và kỹ năng) (Đàn bà mới, 24 Aug. 1936).
One of the images of a
modern woman described in the newspaper Phụ
nữ thời đàm was “being dressed and using accessories in a modern way; white
trousers, colored shirts, high-heeled shoes, white teeth, talking to men in
French, writing articles for a newspaper, and using the term “female intellectual” (nu si) on their name card.”
Nonetheless, the article also emphasized: “modern women need to have a new
consciousness, a new ideology, and a new set of activities” (Phụ nữ thời đàm,
29 Oct. 1933).
Being well-dressed and in style were ways toward
modernity. Women courageously raised their voices
to defend what they considered a justifiable need to be beautiful: “We’ve gotten rid of the old chicken-tail hair style, replaced
dyed black teeth with white, use lipstick in place of betel-chewing …, wear silky white trousers instead of the
old thick black pants which we could not tell whether they were clean or dirty (although the elders said they were clean because they
were black) …”
(Phong hóa, 8 June.1934).
New women changed the scene on the street with their colorful ao dai dress which showed a combination
of traditional style and Parisian
fashion.[40]
It either highlighted their soft and seductive feminine aspects or their physical strength when they were in
short pants on their bike. Women no longer complied with the strict Confucian demands regarding male-female interaction;
they went with their male friends to the cinema, the theatre, the dance
hall, and the
sports stadium.
Interviews of
female intellectuals conducted by the newspaper Women (Dan ba) in 1942
showed that the majority of these intellectuals had aspirations to further their education and work in areas they
had studied while still being committed
to their family responsibilities.[41]
Overall, the
image of the woman ideally suitable to Vietnam’s new era and
consciousness included genuine newness. This newness referred to a woman who
knew how to harmonize the traditional moral
requirements of “a tender mother and versatile wife”
with the demands
of civilized society. Additionally, they would have professions that allowed them to be independent, educate their children
scientifically, maintain equality between the sexes, and participate in social
activities as well as struggle against social injustice.
Struggle for Self-Determination
Being conscious
about their role in society, women concluded that in order to master their own
destiny they had to participate in the election process as candidates and
politicians. As a result, they joined the national liberation struggle, a
precondition for women rights.
During the
campaign for democratic freedom that unfolded from 1936 to 1939, many female
intellectuals wrote propagandistic pieces to disseminate Marxist thought on women’s rights, mobilized women to
struggle, set up an Action Committee, and put forth slogans guiding women to
fight for their interests. Some specific key interests were: universal suffrage; rights to employment, equal employment, treatment and pay; and expansion of
schools and physical training centers for women.
On September 24,
1936, in Hanoi, 30 women met at the headquarters of the Association for
Knowledge on Hang Quat Street in order to discuss the drafting of a document on
aspirations (dan nguyen). Doan Thi
Tam Dan was the chairperson, and Ms. Tam Kinh (or Tran Thi Trac) and Ms. Dinh
Thi Phuong were the secretaries. The meeting discussed the following problems:
the opening of a primary school for girls without age restriction, women’s right to vote,
and the setting up of committees to focus on
women’s aspirations related to their occupation (such as committees for labor, commerce,
agriculture, engineering, nursing,
public works, and journalism).
In Dong Thap newspaper, Ms. Song Nga
emphasized that women needed to have the right to vote, which would allow them to participate in social
work as well as to protect themselves. “When women have the right to choose
their representatives,” she said, “they can expect the fulfillment of their
aspirations” (Đông Pháp, 4 Oct. 1936).
The meeting to
discuss Aspirations was praised by
the Press as “the first time that women in
Indochina met to act politically” (Đàn bà mới, 26 Oct. 1936). The Press
during this period had played a
role as an organizer of the women’s struggle and it had clearly contributed greatly to the
transformation of
women into a political and social force within the
common struggle for national liberation – an objective to be reached as a precondition for the realization of women’s
rights.
The peak of the
commitment to women’s self-determination was manifested in the general uprising
of August, 1945. According to a
description by Ms. Le Thi[42]
who had directly participated in many activities prior to the uprising and
during the period of August
17-19, 1945, which led to the uprising itself, Hanoi
women were enthusiastic about the mobilization conducted by the Indochinese
Communist Party and a large number of them joined the Party’s activities.
During the meeting organized for civil servants by the provisional Tran Trong
Kim government (set up by Japanese occupation troops), Ms. Nguyen Khao Dieu
Hong “seized the podium” to introduce the Viet Minh Front and the plan to seize
power to establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The meeting quickly
turned into a protest and a march. Ms. Le Thi recalled, “A lot of women joined. Hanoi girls wore their ao dai and white trousers. Women who worked as petty traders wore black trousers
and wide-sleeved
shirts. I cannot adequately describe the passion, the happiness, and
the spirit of revolution during those days. I can only say that before that moment in Hanoi, not very
many women had walked on the street. During that time, they marched, waved the
flag, and loudly chanted slogans. They did not seem to feel ashamed to act that way.” [Doan
Trang , 2009]
The general
uprising of
August 1945 brought independence and freedom to the Vietnamese people. At
the same time, it also opened a new chapter of Vietnamese history. This
achievement became possible due to the contributions of women as a political force. In the
provinces, there were women who became leaders during the uprising; they
organized and led the uprising and set up a revolutionary government. Some key figures were Ms. Ha Thi Que in Bac Giang, Ms.
Truong Thi My in Ha Dong, Ms. Phan Thi Ne in Hoi An, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dinh in Ben
Tre, and Ms. Tran Thi Nhuong in Sa Dec.
Epilogue: “Fit for Public Work,
Versatile at Home” – A Traditional Continuity?
After the August uprising succeeded on September 2, 1945, two women at the Ba Dinh Square (Ms. Duong Thi Thoa aka Le Thi, and Ms. Dam Thi
Loan) had the honor of raising the national flag at the moment when President
Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence to proclaim the birth of the
new republic. Clause 9 of the 1946 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam mandates: “the strength
of the nation is in the hands of the Vietnamese people, regardless of
ethnicity, gender, economic well-being, class, or religion … Women and men are equal in all areas.”
Answering interviews before the first
national elections of the National Assembly, Ms.
Doan Thi Tam Dan, a candidate for the Hanoi area, expressed her thoughts, “whether
being a National Assembly deputy or a teacher, I wholeheartedly offer my
service.” Ms. Doan Thi Tam Dan became one of the ten women who were elected
deputies of the first session of the National Assembly of Vietnam. Although
female deputies only formed a modest percentage of the entire Assembly, this small achievement marked a crucial victory for
Vietnamese women on the road toward human, and women’s,
rights – a result
of the process of contestation by Vietnamese women for over half a century.
Women who had received an education during the French period
contributed considerably to education
and the sciences
in Vietnam. They were Ms. Hoang Xuan
Sinh, Ms. Ngo Ba Thanh, Ms. Dang Bich Ha, Ms. Dang Thi Hanh, Ms. Dang Thanh Le,
Ms. Dang Anh Dao, Ms. Le Thi, Ms. Dang Xuyen Nhu, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi …
After independence, the Vietnamese had to fight two wars
in order to defend national independence (1946-1954) and to unify
the country (1954-1975). Vietnamese women in both northern and southern Vietnam
had no other choice but to both engage in production in the place of the men who had been recruited into the army, and also join the fighting forces. They deserved the recognition given to them by the government, “Indomitable,
heroic, upright, and versatile” (anh hùng, bất khuất, trung hậu, đảm đang) [ Nguyễn
Thị Thập,1981, p 9]
At present, Vietnamese women are fully equal to men under the law. The Law on Gender Equality, passed by the National
Assembly on November 29, 2006, which became effective from July 1, 2007 onwards, was aimed at further creating favorable conditions for
women to realize their equal rights.
Since 1989, the General Confederation of Labor of Vietnam
has been initiating a
movement to promote “excellence in public duty, versatility in house work.” The objective has been to
mobilize contributions from women for the industrialization
and modernization of the country. This continues to be another recognition of Vietnamese women’s traditional
role in a new development context.
According to reports from the National Assembly Committee
for Social Problems[43]
women are currently present in almost every occupation in society.[44]
Nonetheless, statistics show that women form the main work force in occupations
that are simple or that require a low level
of training. Only a small percentage of women work in occupations that
require a higher level of training, at a leadership level, or in an occupation related to state management.[45]
For example, the percentage of women who have graduated from a
university is approximately the same as that of men, and graduated women tend to have higher marks than
their male coutnerparts,[46]
yet, the percentage of women who go on to earn a Master’s or Doctorate, or who become an associate professor or professor, has remained low. The question then is whether to assign
the responsibility of this difference to women, to the public, or to the family? Which
area, or
combination of areas has created
pressure on women and has limited
their ability to excel in what they are doing? Additionally, although there has been movement to encourage competition and to recognize the twin capacities of “working for
the public and being versatile at home,” one may ask whether this is what women
aspire to become or if, in fact, they merely
aspire to live the way they want and to do the work they like. This article ends the discussion of the impact of the
education for women in colonial Vietnam by looking to the future, asking the question: In the modern and globalized context of the twenty-first
century, do women need to rethink their role and their rights in the family and
society?
Notes
[1] On September 1, 1858, the French
attacked Da Nang, and in 1862, the Nguyen dynasty signed an agreement that
recognized French authority over three provinces of the Eastern region of Nam
Ky: Gia Dinh, Dinh Tuong, and Bien Hoa. In 1867, the French seized the rest of
the western region of Nam Ky and in 1874, the Nguyen signed an agreement to
recognize the French presence in the south. In 1884, the Nguyen had another
agreement with the French, the Patenotre Agreement of June 6, 1884, which
recognized the French authority over the entire territory of Vietnam. This
Agreement divided Vietnam into three parts: Tonkin (the northern region of Bac
Ky), Annam (the central region), and Cochinchina. These three regions were
placed under different types of administration as if they were three separate
countries. The southern region (Cochinchina) was a French colony; the northern
and central regions were French protectorates but were still under the rule of
the Nguyen. In 1887, the French established the entity known as the “Indochina
Union” consisting of Tonking, Annam, Cochinchina, and Cambodia. In 1893, Laos
also became a part of Indochina.
[2] One feature of
petty agricultural production was that individual families were the
production units. This required close labor coordination between women
and men, and allowed women to participate in every stage
of the production process: preparing the soil, sowing, irrigating, weeding,
fertilizing, and harvesting. The common image of rural Vietnam was:
“In the upland rice field, in the lowland rice field, the husband, the wife and
the buffalo works.” (“Trên đồng cạn, dưới đồng sâu, chồng cày, vợ cấy, con trâu
đi bừa”). Western merchants and
missionaries arriving in Vietnam between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries observed that Vietanmese women were very versatile, participating in both production and commerical activities. Father Jean
Koffler who was in Dang Trong from 1740 to 1755 observed that the native women were very skillful in weaving cotton and silk. They also dyed the
thread into different colors and were also skillful in making cake and candy. Women cultivated tobacco and cotton trees while also selling the products at the
market or shops of foreign owners. (“Họ (phụ nữ) rất khéo léo trong việc dệt vải bông và lụa. Họ cũng nhuộm
những thứ này thành nhiều màu khác nhau. Họ cũng rất khéo trong việc làm bánh
và mứt kẹo…Phụ nữ trồng thuốc lá, trồng bông, phụ nữ buôn bán ở chợ hay cửa hiệu
của người ngoại quốc”) (Cited in Trần Quốc Vượng, 1972, p. 17)
[3] Document no. AB.53, Han-Nom Research Institute (44
pages; 20x13) consists of three documents in the nom language: Khuyết hiếu ca, Trường hận ca, which was
a nom translation; and Cảnh
Phụ Châm. See information in Hoang Van Lau, 1984.
[4] According to statistics compiled
by Le Thu Huong (1996), the Han Nom material collection has 35 documents in the category of family teaching
and the education of women.
Of these 35 documents, nine focus specifically on the
education of women: Giáo nữ
di quy by Tran Hoanh Muu; Huấn nữ diễn âm ca by Nguyen Dinh Thiet, and materials
from anonymous writers such as Huấn nữ tử
ca, Huấn nữ tử giới. Huấn nữ tam tự thư,
Nữ học diễn ca, and Nữ bảo châm. Most of the material on
family teaching includes sections for daughters both when are under their
parents’ care and later under their husbands’. See additional discussion from
Pham Hoang Quan published by Phuong Dong Publication House in 2005.
[5] This refers to Trung Trac and
Trung Nhi, the two women who rose up against the Han occupation around 40 AD. Their reign lasted for
three years, from 40-43 AD.
[10]
Doan Thi Diem (1705-1748) lived during the Le dynasty. She authored Truyền kỳ tân phả and translated Chinh phụ ngâm (Song of the
Soldier’s Wife) by Dang Tran Con.
My dear husband, if you need to
join the army, you may go(Chàng
ơi phải lính thì đi)
I am here to stay and to tend our
home (Cửa nhà sau trước
đã thì có em)
You leave and I stay home(Anh đi em ở lại nhà,)
To take care of our old mother and our young child (Hai vai gánh
vác mẹ già con thơ…)
Our property may come from our parents (Tiền gạo thì của mẹ cha)
But I am responsible for your study, the ink and the paper (Cái
nghiên, cái bút thật là của em)
Next year when the
harvest is good and we have a lot of money(Sang năm lúa tốt, nhiều tiền)
I will use it to
pay capital tax for you, my dear husband (Em đem đóng thuế, đóng sưu cho chồng)
[12] The Hong Duc Law
stipulated: Daughters have the same right as
sons to inherit the family’s property (Clause 388, p.152). When they get married, this portion of
property remains theirs. When their husband dies, and if
there are no children, then the wife receives half of the property (Clause
375). For a family without a son, the daughter will inherit the land used for
ancestor worship (Clauses 391-397). On marriage, the wife has the
right to ask for a divorce if the husband is handicapped, commits a crime, or
squanders property (Clause 322). Women also have the right to file for a
divorce if the husband does not return to her for a long period of time (Clause
308). The husband cannot abandon his wife if she contributes to the development
of family property, performs required funeral rites for deceased in-laws, or
has no other place to turn to (Quốc triều hình luật, 2003).
[13] The cult of the Holy Mother (Dao
Mau) that worships Mother Lieu Hanh appeared in the seventeenth century. It was
rooted in the Viet’s traditional worship of the mother goddess. In addition,
images of women in daily life appeared in the decorations of village communal
houses – places which allowed strictly only men to enter to perform rituals for
the local deities or to hold meetings.
[14] Based on
Paullus and Bouninais in La France en Indochine and Paul
Bonnetain in L’extrème Orient, both
of which are cited by Nguyen Anh (1967), op
cit, p.42.
[15] Based on G. Dumoutier, Les debuts de Lénseignement Francais au
Tonkin, cited by Nguyen Anh (1967), op cit, p.44.
[16] The primary level consisted of six
classes: cours enfantin; cours
préparatoire; cours élémentaire; cours moyen 1e année, cours moyen 2e
année, and cours supérieur. The first three
years were grouped as the elementary level; the rest was called the primary
level.
[17] After two years,
students took the first baccalaureate examination. If they passed, they
continued on to the third year. The third year consisted of two sections:
philosophy and math.
[18] Based on the newspaper Women (Dan
ba) published in the spring of 1942. It argued that this was the
first girl school in the northern region of Bac Ky and also the first girl
school for Indochina. It is possible that this was among the first French-established
post-primary colleges for girls.
[19]
Association of Female Alumi of Gia Long (Hội ái hữu cựu nữ sinh Gia Long), http://www.gialong.org/history.html, pp.1-2.
[20] This is a personal memoir of
Nguyen Thi Hong Van (1935-1994), who was the niece of an official in former Phu
Nho Quan (now Ninh Binh province), Dang Vu Tro.
Her paternal grandfather, Nguyen Tat Tai, was a cu nhan (that is, first-level scholar) in Chinese studies, but did
not become a mandarin. He remained in
his home town to teach and to practice traditional medicine. From 1955 to1978,
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van was a secretary who did typing work for the
Confederation of Labor in Hai Phong, and from 1978 to 1990, she was an
administrative secretary for the Department of Scientific Socialism at the
Nguyen Ai Quoc Political Academy (often called Nguyen Ai Quoc Advanced Party
School, now known as the HCM Political Academy). This
Personal memoir have been kepting at the her family. Part of
this individual memoir has been published by the Department of Education and
Training of Xuan Truong District, Nam Dinh Province in November, /2012
[21] Trung bắc tân văn had a column entitled
“Women’s Words”; Than
chung Newspaper and Cong luan
had sections called “Voices from Female Friends”; Khai hoa Daily had “Women’s Prose” and “Women Forum”; Dong Phap Daily had “Women’s Prose” and
“Words from Common Women”; Ha thanh Ngo
báo (Ha thanh Newspaper) had “Complaints” and Van Minh Newspaper had “Forum for Women.”
[23] Tran Huy Lieu (1901-1969) is a journalist for Dong
Phap thoi bao (1923-1929). He was also a literary writer, a revolutionary activist,
and a historian. He was the first chairperson of Vietnam’s History Association
and also an honorable scientist at the Dong Duc Academy Science. In 1945, he
was deputy chair of
the Committee for National Liberation and presided over Emperor Bao Dai’s
abdication, marking the end of the feudal period in Vietnam.
[24] Phan Boi Chau (1867-1940), whose real name was Phan Van
San, also known as Phan Sao Nam, was a famous revolutionary of the twentieth
century. He was the leader of the Dong Du movement (1905-
1908) that brought Vietnamese youths to Japan to study. He also set up the Vietnam Restoration
Party, a patriotic organization advocating armed struggle to win independence.
[26] Bui Quang Chieu (1872-1945) was a politician who was active
in national independence activities at the beginning of the twentieth century.
He was the head of the Constitutionalist Party and also the editor of three
newspapers: Tribune Indochinoise, L'Echo
Annamite, and Đuốc Nhà Nam.
[27] Dam Phuong (1881-1947), or Ton nu Dong Canh, was affiliated with the
royal family in Hue. She was one of the very first women who wrote for
newspapers. She was the editor of
Phu nu Tung san journal,
the head of the Association for Women Work in Hue iself, which was the first
women’s organization in the twentieth century.
[28] Phan Thi Nga was a journalist and
a women’s rights activist.
[29] Tran Thi Nhu Man participated in
producing the magazine Phu nu tung san.
She was the vice-chair of the Association for Women’s Work in Hue.
[30] Nguyen Thi Minh Khai (1910-1941) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and a leader of the Indochinese Communist Party during the 1930s. She wrote for the newspapers to
mobilize women to advocate Marxist women’s rights. She was arrested by the
French and sentenced to death in 1941.
[32] Phu nu tan van (New Women Literature)
(1929-1935), Đàn bà mới (New Women) (1934-1936), Nữ lưu (Elite Women Class) (1936-1937), Nữ công tạp chí (Women Work Journal) (1936-1938), Nữ giới (Women) (1938-1939) in
Saigon; Phụ nữ thời
đàm (Women Era) (1930-1934), Việt
Nữ (Viet Women) (1937), Phụ nữ (Women) (1938-1939),
Đàn bà (Women) (1939-1945), Bạn gái (Girl Friends) (1945), and Viet Women (Viet nu) (1945) in Hanoi; and Phu nu tan tien (Progressive Women) (1932-1934) in
Hue. See Đặng Thị Vân Chi, 2006.
[33] In 18 articles participating in
the contest that called for an
evaluation of Thuy Kieu, a protagonist in the
famous book, The Story of Kieu by Nguyen Du, only
four contributors concluded
that Kieu deserved praise. The other 14 articles criticized Kieu. The pieces
that praised Ms. Kieu focused on themes
of individual freedom, freedom of love, and women’s aspirations to happiness. Those that
criticized Kieu used
feudal ethical standards such as avoidance of physical interaction between men
and women and chastity. Articles on female virtues praised women who were
versatile and faithful as well as dependable as nurturers.
[34] Opinion Survey “The wife is more
intelligent, the husband is more intelligent, and both are the same: Which
family is happier?” (Đàn bà mới, 30, March, 1935)
[35] “The chastity - the virtue and the chaste” (Chữ Trinh- cái tiết
với cái nết) [ Phu nu tan van-19, September1929], “Discussion more about the freedom of
marriage “ (Bàn thêm về tự do kết hôn ) [Phu nu tan van-, October/1929], “The family regime in our country in
comparison with Confucian moral “ (Cái chế độ gia đình ở nước ta đem gióng
với luân lý Khổng Mạnh [Phu nu tan van-3, June 1930] “whether the principle of the three submissions and four
virtues were appropriate any longer?” ( Tam tòng tứ
đức ngày nay có còn thích hợp với chị em
ta không ) [ Phu nu tan van- 30 July 1931], “The Sung Confucianist with the women” (Tống
Nho với phụ nữ) [ Phu nu tan van 13 August 1931] , “ The women with love” ( Đàn bà với ái tình )[ Phu nu tan van-13
August 1931], “ A Harmful of the great
family regime- mother in law
and-daughter in law” (Một cái hại của
chế độ đại gia đình- Bà gia với nàng dâu )[ Phu nu tan van – 26 August 1931]…
[36] According to a survey conducted by Nguyen Van
Vinh in 1907, of 200 people asked, nobody objected to a man who had more than one
wife.
[37] Within the group that supported
women’s self-liberation, there
was a comment that read “only the conservatives who wanted to hang on to the
old practices criticized self-liberation,” and “forcing women to accept the enslavement and dictatorship of the mega-family
was something to be eliminated”.
[38] Nguyen Duc Nhuan, whose real name
was Cao Thi Khanh, was the chair of Women
Prose.
[39] Phan Khoi (1887-1959) was a famous
journalist during the colonial period.
[40] The original version of the modern ao dai (Vietnam’s long dress), according to Tan A newspaper, was a creation of the Vietnamese in 1921. It was
influenced by the style of a famous French fashion designer, Doenillet. In 1929, the ao dai
style was brought to Hanoi by a Vietnamese fashion designer, Chu Huong Mau, and was called the Lemur-style ao dai
by Cat Tuong, a Vietnamese artist. Sometime between 1933-1934,
Hanoi women began to wear the ao dai on a regular basis, and this practice spread all over the
country. See Phạm Thu, 1997,
“Phụ nữ Việt Nam với ý thức về cái đẹp và lịch sử chiếc áo dài dân tộc” (“Vietnamese women, Consciousness of Beauty, and the History of the Vietnamese Ao Dai,” a conference proceeding participated by female staff members at the Vietnam National University,
Hanoi.)
[41] Women Newspaper (Bao dan ba) dated February 9, 1942
presented an interview of Ms. Vu Thi Hien who had a B.A. from France, and Ms. Kim Oanh who was an
agricultural engineer. Ms. Vu Thi Hien commented, “After finishing my B.A, I wanted
to continue … I also hoped to be able to continue forever … to increase my intellectual abilities and to be more useful to my family
and society” (p.22). Ms. Kim
Oanh stated, “I saw the
importance of family power and authority. Although I work outside the family
realm, I still believe that if we want the family to prosper, women have to
work for it” (p.23).
[42] Ms. Le Thi is the
former Director of Research Institute on the Family and Gender. She
participated in two key events related to the August Revolution: the public
meeting on August 17 and the general uprising on August 19 in Hanoi. She was
also one of the two young girls who were assigned to raise the national flag on
independence day, September 2, 1945 (the other person
was Ms. Dam Thi Loan, the wife of General Hoang Van Thai),
according to an interview
published in Vietnam Week dated
August 18, 2006 titled, “August 19 – the Uprising of the
Empty-Handed” by Doan Trang.
[43] Report on monitoring the
implementation of gender equality and the deployment of the Law on Gender
Equality of 2009. [online] Available at: http://203.162.71.9/ubcvdxh/default.aspx?tabid=362&ID=841&CateID=222.
[44] The percentage of women
participating in production is 83%
compared with that of men,
which is 85%. 46% of women
work in the civil service system and 41.12 % in business. Nonetheless, the
percentage of women working in simple labor work is 53.64%. [online]
Available at: http://203.162.71.9/ubcvdxh/default.aspx?tabid=362&ID=841&CateID=222
[45] The increasing percentage of
female students by year from
2004 to 2007 is: 47.79%,
48.49%, 53.32%, respectively. [online]
Available at: <http://203.162.71.9/ubcvdxh/default.aspx?tabid=362&ID=841&CateID=222>
[46] The percentage of female deputies
for the National
Assembly Session XI (2002-2007) was 27; Session XII (2007-2011) 25.76; and
Session XIII (2011-2015) 24.4. In government agencies, women are often
appointed as deputy heads. Rarely, though, are they appointed as heads of an agency. [online] Available at: http://203.162.71.9/ubcvdxh/default.aspx?tabid=362&ID=841&CateID=222
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(22.5.1936- 4.6.1937).
8. Nữ công tạp chí
(NCTC) (10.1936-8.1938). Sài Gòn.
9. Nữ giới
(NG) (11.1938-11.1939). Sài Gòn.
10. Phụ nữ (PN)
(16.2.1938-4.1939). Hà Nội.
11. Đàn bà
(ĐB) (24.3.1939-1945). Hà Nội.
12. Việt nữ (VN)
(26.10.1945-26.1.1946).
13. Bạn gái (BG)
Tuần báo. (1945). Hà Nội.
14. Đại Nam Đăng
cổ tùng báo (ĐNĐCTB) (28/3/1907-14/11/1907) Hà Nội
15. Đông Dương Tạp
chí (ĐDTC) (15/5/1913-15/6/1919) Hà Nội
16. Trung Bắc Tân
văn (TBTV)(1/1/1915- 4/1941) Hà Nội
17. Nam Phong
(NP) (7/1917-1935) Hà Nội
18. Hà thành Ngọ báo
(HTNB) (1/6/1927-15/8/1931) Hà Nội
19. Loa.(8/2/1934-2/1936) Hà Nội
* Bài đã công bố trong " The Emergence and Heritage of Asian Women Intellectuals" Prined in Bangkok, Thailand, ISBN 978-616-551-8949
** Đọc bài tiếng Việt ở đây: http://chuyencuachi.blogspot.com/2015/06/chinh-sach-giao-duc-cua-phap-va-nguoi.html
