Chauvinist attitudes stop women making progress HANOI - The killing of a young man by a gang of jealous youths has again shown that Vietnam's constitutional guarantee of equality between the sexes is little more than rhetoric. Doan Van Tham, 23, drowned after being beaten unconscious by seven men in the village of Trai Nui, 50km northeast of Hanoi. According to the People's Police newspaper, Tham had gone to Trai Nui from his own village at the request of his cousin, Hoang Van Thang, who wanted to propose to a woman in Trai Nui. But as is the case in many parts of Vietnam, the males of Trai Nui see women as chattels. They ambushed the interlopers and justified their actions as "protecting Trai Nui's women". Such attitudes are not unusual, with reports often detailing locals beating outside suitors, particularly in the country's conservative north. The possessive attitude of Vietnamese men is not much better in the cities. Women who marry foreigners are often vilified by strangers in the street and are forced to quit if they work for the Government. Even in Vietnamese marriages, capable and ambitious young woman find themselves shackled by chauvinistic attitudes. "Some women are stuck in an impasse when they are longing for advancement in society and at the same time functioning as standard mothers and wives," said Tran Thi Kim Xuyen, of the University of Social Sciences. According to Ms Xuyen, so strong are the prevailing attitudes - which among other things define a single woman over 30 as aberrant - that many women who qualify for post-graduate studies choose not to enrol. Ha Thi Khiet, of the Women's Union, hopes to see real gender equality by 2010 to stop the female "brain drain". She recognises the difficulty but says it is essential for more prosperity. "It's universally proven that investing in women means investing in future generations and the socio-economic development of a country," she said. By Huw Watkin - The South China Morning Post - March 25, 2000.