Before you can fully understand the importance of the changes that have occurred in Vietnamese society, you must recognise the following things:The Vietnamese culture has had to survive both the Chinese and French rule of Vietnam, their 30 year struggle for liberalisation, communism, Doi Moi and the current policy of market reform. Amongst all this angst and change, Vietnam has been able to prosper in recent years. Like Mrs Carey told us, Vietnam's change can be compared to adolescence. There have been many ups and downs but Vietnam has prevailed.
Family Life and Population Changes
- Vietnam's move to a free-market orientated economy has affected both the structure and function of modern Vietnamese families
- Vietnamese society see the family as a tool used to combat social evils such as drugs, prostitution, gambling, commercialism, that have developed as a result of the transition to a market economy
- After WWII, the majority of North and South Vietnamese people adhered to traditional customs and practices. After the 1950s, some traditions were questioned, especially by the North.
- The concept of the family as a self-contained socioeconomic unit was refuted by the communists and in response to this, a major family reform was initiated under a new law that was put into effect in 1960
- The law looked at the following aspects relating to family life:
- Prohibiting forced marriages, Cohabitation without legal marriage and abuse
- Equalise the rights and obligations of women and men within the family
- Equal status between the sexes in all areas of life
- Discouraging dowries and lavish weddings and labelling them as wasteful
- Discouraging people to have large families
- Advising young people not to marry before the age of 20 for men and 18 for women and to have no more than 2 children per household
- Attempts to implement the reform were made was made difficult because women did not have a strong sense of feminism and men resisted it. Campaigns were used to raise awareness on the issue. By the 1980s some old habits still remained and change was slow but sure.
- Women played an increasing role in family life after the Vietnam. Some women had to run the household and work. This trend has continued to be the case in 2003, with an increasing number of women in the workplace, yet still performing domestic duties.
A survey conducted in 2000 highlighted the changes that have occurred in the family structure in Vietnam:
- 3045 participated in the survey, of those people 2014 (66%) were married and 1031 (34%) were unmarried
- Of the married people, 1107 (55%) were married before the economic renovation and 907 (45%) were married after
- Of the married people, 47% were farmers, of the unmarried people, 34% were farmers
- The survey has showed a decrease in arranged marriages, or marriages where parents have a say in a person's partner
- There are changing attitudes towards divorce too. 68% of the people interviewed believed that the tendency for separation or divorce was normal.
- Roles of women in the family have also changed according to the survey, almost half of the people surveyed agreed that maintaining the family should be a job shared between both partners. This opinion has been on the rise in recent years.
Family within Vietnamese civilisation:
There are two main periods of "civilisation" in Vietnamese history
• Agricultural
• Industrial & Post industrial
Agricultural
During this period the family has a number of characteristics
• Marriages imposed by parents
• Individuals interest must submit to those
of the family
• The son is highlighted
• Attention is paid to the cult of ancestors
• Children must work prematurely
• Family must provide education care for sick and old
• Family is often large
• Infant mortality rates are high and life expectancy is low
Industrial - post industrial:
• Development of urbanisation
• Women participate in production
• Marriages increasing result in partners choice
• More attention is paid to the individual's happiness and interests
• Society takes a more active role in family affairs
• Nuclear family becomes more popular
• Divorce increases
• Increase in alternative families and dislocated families
• Development of intellectual labor
- Vietnamese people distinguish between the immediate family and the extended family . The Vietnamese immediate family includes not only the husband, wife, and their unmarried children, but also the husband's parents and the sons' wives and children, The extended family consists of the immediate family and close relatives who share the same family name and ancestors and who live in the same community.
- The father is the head of the family, the Vietnamese father shares with his wife and children collective and bilateral responsibility, legally, morally, and spiritually. In the eyes of the children, the Vietnamese mother has the same status as the father.
- At an early age, children are taught by their parents to behave according to the principle of filial piety. (Filial piety consists of loving, respecting, and obeying one's parents.).
