Ea So is a particularly difficult commune of Ea Kar district ( Dak Lak province) with 11 ethnic groups living together, of which ethnic minorities account for more than 60%, mainly the Ede ethnic group.

Ms. Vo Thi Mong Khuong, President of the Women's Union of Ea So commune, said: "In the commune, gender inequality still exists, significantly affecting socio -economic development, leading to many limitations in the lives of women and children, especially ethnic minority women and children. There are still cases of abuse, domestic violence, incestuous marriage, early marriage, multiple births... In particular, backward concepts and stereotypes about the roles of women and men in the family have hindered the development of women and girls."

Implementing Project 8 "Implementing gender equality and solving urgent issues for women and children", the Commune Women's Union has advised on the establishment of 2 pilot models of "Community Communication Teams" in Ea Puk village and Cu Ana San village with 14 members.

In order for the models to operate effectively, the District Women's Union has trained and equipped 100% of its members with knowledge and skills in operating the group. On that basis, the Commune Women's Union has guided the groups to conduct field surveys, grasp the situation of gender inequality, difficulties and limitations related to women and children such as: Inequality in deciding on family issues, poor hygiene, the custom of tying strings, early marriage, consanguineous marriage... From the survey results, the groups develop plans and periodic communication content by month and quarter and determine communication forms suitable to reality: Meetings with people to directly propagate, visiting households, private consultation, broadcasting, distributing leaflets... After each communication session, the group members hold meetings to review experiences to improve the effectiveness of the following activities.

From 2 pilot models established in Ea Puk and Cu Ana San villages, Ea So commune has now expanded to 7 Community Communication Teams in the area. With the efforts of the members, every year the "Community Communication Team" models have proactively organized 28 direct communication sessions, distributed more than 2,000 leaflets on preventing domestic violence, early marriage, consanguineous marriage, reproductive health care; organized 3 sessions on loudspeakers to inform members, women and people about the knowledge of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence, Law on Gender Equality, Law on Marriage and Family, prevention of early marriage, consanguineous marriage... suitable to the needs of each village and hamlet. Communication sessions associated with village and hamlet meetings are implemented as a regular activity of the village and hamlet.

"The activities of the 'Community Communication Team' models have brought about positive effects and impacts, contributing to changing the 'thinking and working style' of local people. Seeing the benefits of gaining more knowledge, the rate of people participating in communication activities has reached over 60%, especially the active participation of ethnic minorities. The teams have successfully advised more than 20 cases related to early marriage, string-tying, and violence prevention...", Ms. Vo Thi Mong Khuong shared.

According to the President of the Ea So Commune Women's Union, the propaganda work on gender equality for men has also achieved positive results. 30 husbands in villages and hamlets have shared housework with their wives, agreed to let their wives participate in Union activities, physical education and sports movements, and enjoy spiritual and cultural values.

Not only communication, the Group is also a bridge between the people and the government, promptly reflecting the aspirations and difficulties of the people, helping the locality have more channels to grasp the ideological situation and public opinion. The Group has proposed to the commune government to support 9 poor households with 90 million VND to develop the model "Raising cows to escape poverty"; support women to access services more easily, such as: Health insurance, health care, protection of a clean living environment...

It can be said that the Community Communication Team model in Ea So commune, Ea Kar district, Dak Lak province in particular and in other communes across the country in general has been making an important contribution to raising awareness, changing behavior, promoting increasingly practical and effective policies on ethnicity, gender equality and sustainable development.

MOON MINH

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/xa-hoi/dan-toc-ton-giao/cac-van-de/giup-phu-nu-dan-toc-thieu-so-thay-doi-nep-nghi-cach-lam-832758