{"id":35199,"date":"2017-03-07T09:40:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T09:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/queme.org\/en\/?p=35199"},"modified":"2017-03-07T23:07:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T23:07:23","slug":"international-womens-day-vietnam-imprisonment-intimidation-injustice-inequality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/international-womens-day-vietnam-imprisonment-intimidation-injustice-inequality\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women\u2019s Day in Vietnam: Imprisonment, Intimidation, Injustice, Inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS, 7 March 2017 (VCHR) \u2013 As the world prepares to celebrate International Women\u2019s Day on 8th<\/sup> March under the theme \u201cBe Bold for Change\u201d,<\/em><\/strong> women in Vietnam are paying a high price for standing up for their rights. Women human rights defenders, bloggers, on-line journalists, land rights and worker rights activists, religious and political dissidents are the target of brutal attacks, harassments, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment in detention simply for the peaceful advocacy or exercize of their human rights.<\/p>\n

Thirty-five years after Vietnam ratified the UN Covenant on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), gender discrimination and abuses of women\u2019s political, social and economic rights persist in every domain. In the workplace, women work longer hours than men, are paid less and are in poorer health. Trafficking of women and girls for sexual and labour exploitation, domestic violence, discrimination in access to health care, education and land rights are widespread. Given the absence of independent women\u2019s civil society organizations, free trade unions, independent media and an independent judiciary in Vietnam\u2019s communist state, women have no means to voice their grievances or seek remedy for abuses of their rights.<\/p>\n

VCHR pays tribute to all these women. We cite some salient examples below:<\/p>\n

Nguy\u1ec5n Ngoc Nh\u01b0 Qu\u1ef3nh<\/strong>, 37, alias \u201cM\u1eb9 N\u1ea5m\u201d (Mother Mushroom), one of Vietnam\u2019s most prominent bloggers and human rights defenders. A leading voice of her generation, she has been blogging on social and political issues since 2006, and suffered repeated harassments. \u00a0Arrested on 10 October 2016 in central Vietnam, Nh\u01b0 Qu\u1ef3nh is charged with \u201cspreading propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam\u201d<\/em> (Article 88 of the Criminal Code). She risks a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Nh\u01b0 Qu\u1ef3nh has not been allowed to meet her lawyer or family since her arrest, and in January her pretrial detention was extended until May 2017 (three months beyond the normal 4-month period) without any explanation. Bloggers believe her arrest is aimed to discourage the younger generation and \u201ccut off the snake\u2019s head\u201d.<\/em> They say, however, that this tactic will fail, since many are ready to take her place. On her blog, she wrote: \u201c<\/em>the greatest danger facing the Vietnamese people today is fear \u2013 the fear inside each person\u2019s heart that is slowly, inexorably stifling our vitality and our very future.<\/em> Dispelling this fear is the most urgent challenge we face. If we can\u2019t solve this problem, there is no point in talking about democracy, independence or preserving national sovereignty. The destiny of Vietnam is in our own hands. It is up to us, no-one else.\u201d<\/em> (17.9.2011).<\/p>\n

Tr\u1ea7n Th\u1ecb Nga<\/strong>, 40, an outspoken human rights defender, labour rights and land rights activist. She was arrested on 21 January 2017 at her home in Phu L\u00fd, northern Vietnam and accused of \u201cusing the Internet to spread propaganda videos and writings against the SRV\u201d <\/em>(Article 88). She is the mother of four children, the youngest of whom is only four years old. When she was 20, Nga found work in Taiwan through a broker, who confiscated her passport and kept 80% of her earnings. On returning to Vietnam, she engaged to defend women trafficked overseas for labour exploitation and victims of land confiscation. She has been repeatedly beaten and harassed for her activities. In 2014, she was attacked while riding on a bicycle with her children. Men armed with iron pipes beat her brutally, breaking her leg and arm. Nga also faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted. She is currently held incommunicado at H\u00e0 Nam provincial prison.<\/p>\n

Tr\u1ea7n Th\u1ecb Th\u00fay, <\/strong>45, a Hoa Hao Buddhist. She became involved in the struggle for land rights after her family\u2019s land was seized by local\u00a0authorities. In 2010, she was arrested in B\u1ebfn Tre and sentenced to eight years in prison at a closed trial in May 2011 on charges of \u201cactivities aimed at overthrowing\u201d the state<\/em> (Article 79 of the Criminal Code). Currently detained in An Ph\u01b0\u1edbc Detention Camp in B\u00ecnh D\u01b0\u01a1ng province, Ms. Th\u00fay is critically ill. In 2015, she was diagnosed with a tumour on her uterus, but has been denied medical care and is now hardly able to walk. She also suffers from painful boils all over her body. Her family believes she is subjected to such harsh treatment because she refuses to admit she committed a crime. Her treatment is a grave violation of the UN Convention against Torture, which Vietnam ratified in 2015.<\/p>\n

The long list of women in prison includes Ms. L\u00ea Thu H\u00e0<\/strong>, arrested on 16 December 2015 along with human rights lawyer Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n \u0110\u00e0i and still awaiting trial on charges of \u201cspreading propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam\u201d <\/em>(Article 88); Ms. Nguy\u1ec5n Thi Minh Th\u00fay, <\/strong>condemned to three years in prison in March 2016 for \u201cabusing democratic freedoms to harm the interests of the State\u201d <\/em>(Article 258) because of her work with Nguy\u1ec5n H\u01b0u Vinh on AnhBaSam, one of Vietnam\u2019s most influential blogs (Vinh received a 5-year sentence).<\/p>\n

Women also face harassments and intimidation for their human rights activities. In February 2017, online journalist and blogger Ph\u1ea1m \u0110oan Trang <\/strong>was threatened and harassed to prevent her meeting a delegation from the European Parliament visiting Vietnam to assess the human rights situation.<\/p>\n

On the occasion of International Women\u2019s Day, VCHR calls on Vietnam to:<\/p>\n