Female Party branch secretaries in mountainous regions

(Baonghean)In the mountainous district of Quỳ Châu, many women have been elected as secretaries in numerous village-level Party branches. These women have overcome difficulties and led their branches to develop in many aspects. This is truly a significant step forward in enhancing the role of women in society. It is even more meaningful in a highland area where the role of women is often underestimated due to societal notions and prejudices.

During a work trip to Chau Binh commune (Quy Chau district), I heard many stories from the commune's Party Committee about the activities of eight female Party branch secretaries who were "good at public affairs and good at household duties" in eight grassroots Party branches. One of them was Party member Lo Thi Duc – Secretary of the Party branch in Hat village. Like many other women in mountainous areas, when the lives of the majority of the population are still difficult, the work of these women is inevitably heavy and arduous. "We women participate in economic production for our families while also taking care of our husbands and children… Therefore, we don't have much time left to participate in Party work or activities of mass organizations," Ms. Duc confided. But that is still not the biggest obstacle for women in the highlands, because in society there are still prejudices and attitudes of "preferring men over women," so many families do not create conditions for them to participate in activities.

For Ms. Duc, being admitted to the Party was an honor. Despite her young age (born in 1980), she was aware of the role and responsibility of a Party member and actively participated in Party activities as well as other social organizations in the locality. After many years of striving, in August 2012, she was trusted and elected as the Party branch secretary by the Hat village Party cell, which had 13 Party members – a place where, including herself, there were only two female Party members. Although she had just taken over the job and was a woman, Ms. Duc identified the immediate breakthrough for the Party cell: strengthening the identification and training of outstanding individuals to recommend and admit into the Party. "The village has 98 households, 448 inhabitants, 100% of whom are Thai ethnic people. However, the number of Party members is still too small compared to the total population, especially female Party members," Ms. Duc shared.

With a clear direction, Secretary Duc regularly participated in activities of local organizations such as the Women's Association to identify and promote the benefits and honor of joining the Party to women. However, the mobilization work was not always smooth, because, as she recounted, many families were reluctant to have women participate in social work. She said: "When we identify and nurture outstanding individuals at the grassroots level, sometimes we have to go to their families to explain the importance to the members. Therefore, many people, once they understood the significance of joining the Party, supported their wives, mothers, and daughters in striving and training." With a sincere and dedicated attitude towards Party work, in 2012, the Party branch of Hat village, Chau Binh commune, identified and nurtured 8 outstanding individuals for Party membership, and the encouraging thing is that 5 out of 8 Party members were women.

Also in Chau Binh commune, I was introduced to the female Party Secretary of Sang 1 village – Ms. Lang Thi Lan. Admitted to the Party in 2002, by 2004 Ms. Lan was trusted and elected as the secretary of a Party branch with 14 members, including 4 female members. She shared her thoughts on her own Party work, the Party branch's activities, and how she has developed the branch in both quality and quantity of members: “I have received much encouragement and support from my colleagues in the Party branch and my family in my work. In a highland village, sometimes the voice of a woman doesn't carry much weight. But I just do my best, and the people trust and love me.” Thanks to this, the Sang 1 village Party branch has been recognized as a “Clean and Strong Party Branch for three consecutive years.” Despite these achievements, when discussing Party work in the unique conditions of the locality, she shared many concerns and anxieties, especially regarding the development of Party members, particularly female members. “Our challenge is that many truly outstanding and reputable individuals in the villages lack the necessary educational qualifications, making it impossible to train them. As for women, the local economic conditions are difficult, while their responsibilities and obligations are immense, leading many to show little interest in community activities. Therefore, identifying and training female Party members is also challenging,” Secretary Lan lamented.

After saying goodbye to the female Party branch secretaries in Chau Binh commune, I returned to Chau Hanh commune – a unit with a significant number of women serving as Party branch secretaries in hamlets and villages, no less than Chau Binh commune. Almost immediately, Comrade Le Ba Ngoc – Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, listed for me the full names of the female Party branch secretaries: Ms. Luong Thi Xuan – Secretary of Hua Na village, Ms. Luong Thi Huyen – Secretary of Khe Mi village, Ms. Lo Thi Que – Secretary of Dong Minh village… Currently, Chau Hanh commune has 23 Party branches with 346 Party members, of which 11 branches have female secretaries. The percentage of female Party members accounts for more than 40% of the entire Party committee, including one female Party member holding the important position of Deputy Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, and 3 out of 17 comrades in the Commune Party Committee Executive Board. “The women are very diligent and highly responsible in their work, thus effectively fulfilling their role in Party work, contributing to Party building, strengthening the political system at the grassroots level, and significantly improving the economy, society, and overall movements,” Comrade Ngoc said. However, to achieve today's results, Chau Hanh has had to travel a long road using various methods to identify and nurture women. One of these methods is finding sources of female Party members within women's associations, schools, health stations, and the Youth Union. Simultaneously, propaganda work has been carried out to enhance the status of women in the community, eliminating outdated customs and prejudices to create favorable conditions for women's activities. Secretary Ngoc shared: "Ideological work is the most important. We often encourage the women not to feel ashamed or inferior because they are the weaker sex, but to boldly participate in activities, fight for freedom and equality, and strive to improve themselves through participation in Party work as well as social activities to perfect themselves."

The female Party members I had the opportunity to meet mentioned above are just a small number compared to the 41 female Party branch secretaries throughout Quy Chau district. Their contributions, however small, demonstrate that society has a more fair and accurate understanding of the position and role of women. This is especially significant in mountainous areas where economic conditions are difficult and the concept and role of women are not as highly valued as in Quy Chau.

Thanh Duy