Enhancing collaboration between Viet Nam Fatherland Front and Viet Nam Women’s Union for increasing number of female Deputies to National Assembly and female members of People’s Councils

In her opening remarks, VWU President Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa highlighted the Party and State attention paid to female cadre work; the VFF and VWU’s roles in the NA and PC elections, contributing to enhancing women’s participation in elected bodies. She also frankly pointed out a limitation in female cadre work that the percentage of female NA deputies and female PC members did not reach the set target, even decreased, in the past terms. In her opinion, achieving the target requires joint efforts from the entire political system, in which, the VFF and VWU play an important role.

The goal of the VFF-VWU Collaboration Program is to promote roles and responsibilities of the 2 organizations in the election towards reaching the quota of female NA deputies and female PC members for the term 2016-2021 as specified in the Resolution N^o 11/NQ-TW o­n women cadre work in the period of intensifying national industrialization and modernization and the 2011-2015 National Strategy o­n Gender Equality. The Collaboration Program focuses o­n such activities as advising the number and structure (specific criteria required for each eligible seat) of female NA deputies and female members of People’s Councils at different levels; proposing the structure of election organizing committees at all levels; cooperating closely during the negotiation & consultation process, nominating candidates; strengthening communication and monitoring, ect.

During the workshop, the participants focused o­n discussing and analyzing the reasons why the set quota of female NA deputies and female PC members have not been reached and collaboration activities. They expressed their agreement with the drafted Collaboration Program and pointed out that the VFF and the VWU should be more proactive in recommending the NA’s Standing Committee o­n tentative structure and quantity of the NA’s deputies including female o­nes.

Another consultative workshop to get comments and inputs from different sectors, branches and mass organizations at provincial level was organized o­n 27 March, which provided a basis for the VWU to finalize the Collaboration Program.