I am no longer dependent on my husband
“The training showed me that household chores could and should done by both husband and wife. Both the husband and wife need to share the workload between each other from taking care of children, cooking, washing clothes to earning money”
The story of Ms. Cao Thi My Hien, Hiep Thanh commune, Duyen Hai town, Tra Vinh province
Since getting married, my family’s earnings all depends on my husband. I am very self-deprecating, and not as bold as others. I think that just being at home, taking care of the children, and providing food for the family is enough. But I have changed my mind after receiving training on Gender Equality launched by the project in August 2020.
The training showed me that household chores are done by both husband and wife. Husband and wife need to share the workload between each other, from taking care of children, cooking, washing clothes to earning money. The wife can also earn money to help the family. I have changed. So I started talking to my husband that I want to sell cakes to earn extra income for my family and my husband supported my decision.
We invested some money to purchase baking equipment. That was the first time I have built up my courage to go to the market to sell goods to earn extra income for my family. Every morning, I stay at the stall for 2-3 hours and startedearning from 100,000VND to 150,000VND. This job of selling cakes has helped my family have a more stable income to support family expenses and my children's education, and consequently, I could help my lift a financial burden off of my husband.
Over the past few months, our relationship has improved and become happier which makes me very happy. I'm very thankful for the project and the Cooperative for facilitating such a good and meaningful training session.
“Strengthening group cohesion in the clam value chain through collective action and gender equality” within the framework of cooperation with the project “Sustainable and comprehensive development of the Clam and Bamboo Value Chain in Vietnam” (SCBV) funded by the European Union. The project is jointly implemented by Oxfam and the Center for International Cooperation in Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS) and stakeholders from November 2019 to January 2021.