The lives of women in remote areas

Bung village, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district (Nghe An), where women say March 8 has never been celebrated. Photo: Xuan Thuy

It took us nearly 3 hours to travel the 19km distance from the center of Mon Son commune to Bung village. This Dan Lai community currently has 112 households, a total of 500 people, and is the most remote and isolated village in Con Cuong district. The dangerous roads are the reason why this community faces economic difficulties and is quite isolated from the outside society.

Bung village women plant cassava in the late afternoon. Meanwhile, about 20km away, people are organizing meetings to celebrate International Women's Day. Photo: Huu Vi

Late in the afternoon, while the meeting to celebrate International Women's Day was taking place in the center of Mon Son commune, and neighboring villages were holding festivals, on the road leading to the village, Ms. La Thi Thien was still diligently planting cassava. Helping her were 3 other women. These women could not even remember their own ages. She said she did not know about International Women's Day, only cared that in a day and a half, with the help of a group of friends, she had just finished planting the cassava field.

At dusk, on the slope leading to the village, women also returned home from the forest. With firewood loaded on their backs, a woman led a naked 7-year-old girl, climbing over two stairs built on the fence. Her smile was forced into the camera lens. Some others had finished their work and sat chatting in front of their gates. From here, one could clearly see each dilapidated thatched-roofed stilt house. From one house, music echoed from an old loudspeaker. A group of women, children and the elderly sat sadly on the stairs.

Ms. Le Thi Canh is a mother of five children. Her Dan Lai community has only the last names Le and La. Photo: Xuan Thuy

From a tiny hut next to the stilt house came the faint music of a smartphone. We curiously knocked on the door. It was the thatched hut of Ms. Le Thi Canh. The woman was born in 1985 and had 5 children. The oldest was 15 years old but had returned from working far away. The youngest was over 2 years old.

Ms. Canh said she dropped out of school when she was very young, then got married and didn't know what March 8th was.

The lives of Dan Lai women are often tied to their baskets. Photo: Huu Vi

Ms. Chuong Thi Lap, Head of the Women's Association of Bung village, said: The whole village has 125 members. The village has never organized International Women's Day. The event usually only takes place in the commune center and in villages with better economic conditions. Dan Lai women in Bung village have a hard time taking care of food and clothing, while the source of funds to organize International Women's Day can only be donated by members.

For them, celebrating March 8 is something very strange. Photo: Huu Vi

In Bung village, there is a kindergarten and primary school. However, on International Women’s Day, the teachers had to return to celebrate with their colleagues at the main office, more than 20km away.

“Here, the women have to work extremely hard. Most of their time is spent in the forest, while the men still have the habit of drinking alcohol. Celebrating March 8 is almost a luxury for the women of Bung village,” said Nguyen Canh Tan, a border guard officer who has been working at the Bung village working group for 2 years.

Huu Vi - Xuan Thuy