Rain or shine, a group of female stone loaders in a southern Vietnamese province rush to quarries upon receiving phone calls. The group, which has seven members, has performed the physically taxing job of loading rocks onto trucks at quarries throughout Vinh Cuu District in Dong Nai Province, around 30 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, for a living. Rain or shine, a group of female stone loaders in a southern Vietnamese province rush to quarries upon receiving phone calls. The group, which has seven members, has performed the physically taxing job of loading rocks onto trucks at quarries throughout Vinh Cuu District in Dong Nai Province, around 30 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, for a living. The women, from nearly 40 to more than 60 years of age, have work experience of between five and up to 20 years. There are hectic days which start as early as five in the morning. Trucks keep rumbling past, leaving the women no time even for breakfast. At midday, most have a plain lunch … [Read more...] about In Vietnam, women toil at stone quarries
Women body parts
Viet Nam strives for gender equality and empowerment of women
Viet Nam has spared no efforts to achieve the goal of gender equality and empowerment of women by implementing Government policies, national strategies and the Law on Gender Equality adopted recently by the National Assembly. Nguyen Tat Thanh, Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, made the statement at the Informal Thematic Debate of the General Assembly on the Promotion of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in New York on Mar. 7. Vietnamese women are now actively participating in decision-making in all major spheres and at all levels, with the number of women taking part in decision-making bodies increasing constantly, he said. Currently, women account for 27 percent of the National Assembly’s membership and at lower levels, the proportion ranges between 20 to 24 percent. One-third of the judges of the Supreme Court are women. The official stressed that economic independence of women is one of the necessary conditions to achieve gender … [Read more...] about Viet Nam strives for gender equality and empowerment of women
Bodies rained down on Ukraine village after plane disaster
First came the loud explosion that made buildings rattle: then it started raining bodies. One of the corpses fell through the rickety roof of Irina Tipunova's house in this sleepy village, just after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 exploded high over eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are fighting government forces. "There was a howling noise and everything started to rattle. Then objects started falling out of the sky," the 65-year-old pensioner said in front of her grey-brick home. "And then I heard a roar and she landed in the kitchen, the roof was broken," she said, showing the gaping hole made by the body when it came through the ceiling of the kitchen in an extension to the house. The dead woman's naked body was still lying inside the house, next to a bed. About 100 meters (330 feet) from Tipunova's home, dozens more dead bodies lay in the wheat fields where the airliner came down on Thursday, killing all 298 people on board. Still visibly shaken by her … [Read more...] about Bodies rained down on Ukraine village after plane disaster
Tranquillity in body and mind
by Thanh Nga To Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh you either are a committed Buddhist or not, and after having taken a three-day Buddhist pilgrimage tour of famous pagodas located in the southwestern region, she is left with special memories. "It really is a trip to bring tranquillity to your body and mind," Anh said. HCM City women took part in the VinPilgrimage company tour, the first tour operator in Viet Nam to offer religious getaways. Anh visited pagodas such as Hue Nghiem 2 in HCM City, Vinh Trang in Tien Giang, Kh'Leang and Doi (Bat) pagodas in Soc Trang, Quan Am in Can Tho, and Phat Lon and Van Linh, Tay An in An Giang. "The tour offered me a chance to explore beauty of Buddhist architecture, culture and art," Anh said. Among above pagodas, Van Linh pagoda was once La (leaf) pagoda which was built by Nguyen Van Xung, a monk from Ben Tre Province. This pagoda was initially built of simple bamboo, and in 1940, it was officially renamed Van Linh. Van Linh Pagoda consists of two parts … [Read more...] about Tranquillity in body and mind
No country for elephants: Body parts on sale
In “elephant kingdom” in Buon Don District, Dak Lak Province, adornments made from elephant body parts are a common sight. Almost every shop owner here makes a hard sell to tourists with the refrain visitors cannot be considered to have come here if they don’t buy a ring with a hair from an elephant’s tail. In Cau Treo, a tourist spot in Krong Na Commune, we found ourselves in a labyrinth where elephant products were traded openly. Rows of shops sold goods typical of the Central Highlands -- items made of the animal’s tail hair, hide, lungs, teeth, bones, and tusks. When we entered a shop, we were invited to buy “genuine” rings made of tail hair besides tusks and bones. The shopkeeper showed us hundreds of rings from elephants’ tail hairs and a section of an elephant tail with some hairs still on it. “The tail hair brings good luck,” she said, adding that almost every tourist buys a ring, some even two or three. A ring … [Read more...] about No country for elephants: Body parts on sale