Making Women and Women's Issues Matter
For more than 20 years, we have actively helped bring women into Lao public life. Working with our long-time partner, the Lao Women's Union, we have helped achieve significant milestones in the country, including the first long-term shelter for victims of trafficking and domestic violence and passage of the first law giving women legal protections that ensure their safety and equal rights. While women make up 23 percent of the National Assembly—one of the highest percentages in the region for representation at the national level—women rarely hold political office at the local level. Last year, in an effort to increase the number of women holding decision-making positions, we provided hands-on leadership skills training to 277 women government leaders at the sub-national level. The series of workshops was held throughout the country, enabling participation from all 17 provinces. Particularly in the case of more remote provinces, some participants rarely if ever have an opportunity to attend training to enhance their leadership skills. Participants learned about and analyzed laws and international conventions related to rights and gender roles, and were trained in presentation, public speaking, and interviewing techniques. "The training is very useful," says Ms. Fongkeo, a district-level representative of the Union who regularly promotes women's advancement and gender equality to small groups in her home province, "especially knowing now about the Law on Development and Protection of Women." Ms. Fongkeo is from the far north of the country where propeller airplanes may fly only three or four flights a week. To reach her constituency, she often traverses muddy, dirt roads on foot, some of which wash out completely during the rainy season. "There are 78 villages in our province, 10 of which are not reachable by any motored vehicle, so we have to walk," she says. Ms. Fongkeo must also overcome language hurdles—49 recognized ethnic groups live in Laos, and neighboring villages sometimes don't even speak the same language. "Now I can share this with villagers who cannot travel to learn it firsthand."