A ceremony was held in Hanoi to encourage sharing family-related dutiesequally between men and women on the occasion of the 2015 VietnameseFamily Day on June 28.

The event was jointlyorganised by United Nations Women (UN Women), the Vietnam Women’s Unionand the Vietnam Youth Union.

The event tookplace as part of the UN Women’s campaign “HeForShe – the women aroundus”, which aims to actively involve men in the fight for gender equalityand the elimination of discrimination against women and girls.

Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union Tran Thi Huonghighlighted that many Vietnamese families were unhappy due to genderinequality and domestic violence.

Meanwhile,deputy head of the Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs,Hoang Xuan Luon, spoke highly of the increasing number of men whoactively take on family duties, stating that many husbands now share theburden of household chores with their wives.

Shoko Ishikawa, UN Women’s Country Representative in Vietnam,highlighted the significance of sharing responsibilities for genderequality, saying that gender equality in practice benefitted men andwomen alike.

The event included variousdiscussions on the role of men in sharing family responsibilities, withthe participation of representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Sportsand Tourism, and several artists.

Otheractivities to mark the day included trade fairs, a photographyexhibition, art performances and a cooking competition to bring familymembers together and promote gender equality.

Family Day has been celebrated annually since 2001.-VNA