The “Gender Talks in the Communities” initiative generated in-depth discussions, proactive points of view and stories being shared from people in five different project communes from the of Phu Luong and Phu Ninh districts of the Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces, respectively.

The Gender Talks took place throughout June 2015 in 11 villages from communes in five projects. A gender specialist from SRD undertook the imitative. It is one of many activities under phase 2 of the “Participatory land use and management- PLUM in Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces” project funded by Manos Unidas, Spain.

The purpose of the activities was to offer people the chance to better understand the role of women and men in the family setting and in the broader community through conceptual discussions of gender and sex. Concepts like gender roles, gender based prejudice, and gender equality are some examples. Each gender talk had 25 to 40 attendees ranging between 15 and 60 years of age including women and men.

A Gender Talk

As part of the Gender Talks activity, participants were divided into small groups to debate the aforementioned concepts and on case studies that touched upon division of work, chores, forest management, the participation of women in community decision making and their access to and control of resources.

The participants watching a case study

Through a wide range of approaches, the attendees were able to learn basic concepts on gender. They became more aware of the manifestations of gender inequality in their communities and the gender stereotypes that present themselves. A 30 year old man participating in the activity expressed his point of view on the matter “I do not know exactly when gender equality works. However, I think people should be more pragmatic. If a wife or husband in a family is too lazy to do chores and housework and leaves it for his/her partner only, it is extremely unfair and they basically see their partner as an unpaid employee. Married couples living in the countryside do not have mutual respect or tolerance which can lead to daily fights and neglected work”. In addition, some women shared their beliefs that to reach gender equality, the most important thing is mutual respect, support and trust between the man and the woman. A solution is for women to have more confidence and access to education when they are young. Also, there needs to be an increased ability for women to take part in local activities.

-SRD-