Mình Muốn Tham Gia

Mình Muốn Tham Gia

  • Submitted By: phuongtrinh
  • Date Submitted: 10/24/2011 5:31 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1080
  • Page: 5
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VIETNAMESE WOMAN: PAST AND PRESENT Nguyen Ky Nam http://designcomputing.net Vietnamese women have always been in the forefront in fighting back foreign invaders. A good example of the Vietnamese heroines is the Trung sisters who led the first national uprising against the Chinese in the year 40 A.D. Despite of their bravery and patriotism, Vietnamese women in our feudal past have little education opportunities and very low status in the society and family. Vietnam, like most countries in East Asia, is very much influenced by the Confucius philosophy. In the old Vietnam, men are always at the top of the social hierarchy. Our women like Chinese woman, were taught that as young girls, they have to obey their father; as married woman, they have to obey their husbands, and as widows, they have to obey their sons. Our men, like Chinese men, are allowed to have as many wives as they could afford. Our women, in what ever circumstance, are considered virtuous if they maintain a single husband. If an unmarried woman is pregnant, she, not the adulterer is put to trial. It is considered a crime if a wife does not bear her husband a son. The status of Vietnamese women can be judged by studying the following old say1ing: Thịt gà, cơm nếp, đàn bà, Cả ba thứ ấy đều là dùng tay. meaning for chicken, sticky rice and women, hands should be used. Our eating culture has equated our women to a food item! In feudal Vietnam, there are stories about using woman as a ritual sacrifice. One story goes like this. There was a village where beautiful women were used as a ritual sacrifice to a River God on a yearly basis. These helpless women were tied to big stones and thrown into the river. One day, a high government official visited the village. Learning about the barbaric custom in the village, he hold a meeting with villagers and ordered heartless village elders to take turns visiting the River God themselves. Since none of the elders returned, the custom ceased. In our recent war time,...

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