Women and Institutional Changes in a Developing Rural Area

Abstract

Deep social change taking place in the Mekong Delta reflects the determination of Vietnamese women to gain control of their own fate in the development process, and exposes existing barriers that cause and increase difficulties for rural women as social development occurs. Results of sociological surveys I have conducted with my colleagues of residents in hamlets and villages of the Mekong Delta in the past five years reveal the dynamics of inter-relationships among rural women, the family, and social institutions. The women of the Mekong Delta assume major responsibilities for agricultural production and non-agricultural work.