The delegation visited and worked with the Council of Women of Brunei Darussalam (CWBD) at its headquarters. The CWBD was founded in 1985 and acts as a national body representing women of Brunei. It consists of 13 member organizations which are welfare bodies representing the interests of different groups including women, children, girls, senior persons, teachers, wives of government senior officials, etc. The main purpose of the CWBD is to enhance women’s status in all fields especially in education, economy, welfare, culture and social. Almost all CWBD members are retired, work voluntarily and actively participate in activities for women’s advancement and community development. The CWBD has a good relationship with the Government, ministries, and news agencies and is especially under the patron of Brunei’s Queen. The budget for its activities comes from membership fees, contribution, aid and support of the Government. The CWBD is a member of the ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organizations (ACWO) and the International Council of Women (ICW).
Within the framework of this visit, the delegation also made a courtesy visit to Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Datin Paduka Hjh Adina Othman and had a discussion with the Department of Community Development of the Ministry on the situation of women and laws, policies related to women in the two countries. Brunei has issued many legal documents regarding family, women and children including Women and Girls Protection Rule 2011, Children and Young Persons Act and Islamic Family Law. In general, women in Brunei are equal with men in all fields such as politics, economy, education, health, and employment. The proportion of women participating in labor market is relatively high, making up 56.7% of the labor force. The retirement ages of men and women in Brunei are the same (from 55 to 60 years old). There are more and more female university students and officials. However, women in Brunei are also facing many challenges. Preconception about gender equality, lower position of women in religion, lower rate of women at high-ranking leadership,high fertility rate (4 children/woman on average) are difficulties in the process of striving for gender equality.
The delegation also visited the Girls Guide Association, BISTARI Kindergarten, and Recreational Center for the older persons, had exchange activity with the Women’s Institute. Besides official activities, the group had a chance to visit and experience the lives and culture of people in Brunei, attend a traditional wedding, visit the Islamic churches, floating village Kampong Ayer (which was known as the “Venice in the East”), Royal Museum and Royal Palace, visit the Embassy of Vietnam and attend the 69th anniversary of Vietnam National Day on the evening of 17th September, 2014.
The visit of the VWU’s delegation to Brunei ended successfully and opened up opportunities for cooperation and sharing experiences between the two women’s organizations in community activities, promoting the roles of member’s bodies, modes of operation and exchanging ideas about enhancing the cooperation for gender equality and women’s advancement in the two countries.
