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Justina Tedesco
Professors name
Subject
30 April 2012
The Women Of Laos

Before Understanding the women of this beautiful culture, one must first look into its past. The modern state was established by French colonialism between 1893 and 1954: The French delineated the borders and wrote the first national history of Laos. It was also the French who began restoring monuments and constructing a "national" literature. This work was continued by a small group of intellectuals under the RLG associated with the Literature Committee and by the Royal Academy. A nationalist movement was encouraged by the French during World War II, and became an independence movement, the Lao Issara. This movement is a claimed by both Communists and anti-Communists. The current regime claims to be the true nationalist heir, but it came to power and survived only with the military assistance of the Vietnamese. This reliance tarnished its nationalist credentials after 1975, but declining reliance on Vietnam in the 1990s boosted those credentials. More people of Lao ethnic origin live in Thailand than in Laos. Laos was almost absorbed into Siam and that has tinged Lao national identity with fears of disappearance. The fact that most ethnic Lao in the Thai northeast do not identify themselves with the Lao nation-state is a source of confusion, blurring the cultural boundary between Laos and Thailand. Although Lao and Thai languages are very close, central Thai is the key
Tedesco 2 cultural marker of the difference. However, many Lao consider Thai to be more developed than Lao. Lao identity may have been more clearly demarcated when it had a monarchy of its own. Now, many Lao follow the itineraries of Thai royalty as if to fill a cultural absence at home. An ethnic hierarchy exists, placing ethnic Lao at the apex. Many urban Chinese have assimilated into Lao culture, and even those who have not are considered to represent a major civilization. Vietnamese also have assimilated, and those who have not are situated just below the Chinese, though they are more disliked. A small Indian population lives in the urban areas, and dislike for them usually focuses on their dark skin, smell, and alleged deviousness. There is little intermarriage between them and Lao. The term "ethnic minorities" normally refers to the hill tribes. This initial bipolar categorization of ethnic Lao and minorities gives way to a threefold categorization of the population into Lao Lum (lowland, [ethnic,] Lao), Lao Theung (literally midland Lao), and Lao Soung (literally highland Lao). The government has attempted to come up with a comprehensive classification of the ethnic groups, which ranged in number from sixty-eight to forty-three in 1995. Ordinary Lao are likely to use the tripartite classification or even derogatory terms for those designated Lao Theung and Meo. Most disrespect is reserved for the Austronesian groups in the south, whose pipe-smoking women are singled out for comment. LPDR attempts at resettlement of minorities for political control, ecological preservation of forests, and delivery of social services have been poorly executed and have caused resentment. In the south, this has led to the breakup of matrilineal longhouses as groups are moved into standard housing. In the north, Hmong groups, have resisted these attempts at control, sometimes violently. In its early years the

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communist government highlighted its alleged respect for minority cultures, but today there is a greater emphasis on Lao culture.

Today, The women of Laos, one of the few remaining Communist countries in the world, have yet to achieve full equality with men. The problems of Lao women were first formally addressed by the new Communist government in 1975. The government’s efforts aimed to achieve gender equality in economic, cultural, and social areas and to eliminate all discrimination and oppression against women. Despite these promises, little progress has been made on achieving parity with men, particularly in the area of social status and political participation. Economically, however, some progress has been made over the past two decades. Women’s role in the country’s economic development has expanded to the point where they compose 60 percent of the labor force in the agricultural sector, 60 percent in the handicraft sector, and 50 percent in the commerce, public health, and educational sectors. Women are also fairly well represented in business. In the legislature, women made up 6 percent of the membership in the lower house and 22 percent in the upper house in 2005. Laotian women in the Southern lowlands benefit from matrilineal traditions that pass the family home and land to the daughters in the family. When sons marry in the South, they are expected to move out of their parents’ home and into their bride’s home; this is called a “matrilocal” system. Northern Laos, however, follows a patrilineal tradition, so the country’s real estate is split between men and women.The perception of women as weak and inferior is deeply ingrained in society and in women themselves. Women in matrilineal and matrilocal Tedesco 4 groups in the South enjoy a higher social status than women in the patrilineal groups. Lao Lum women, an ethnic majority, appear to have a better educational level, better access to transport and employment, and a better social status than other groups. The Khmu, on the other hand, are poor, less educated, and have fewer opportunities of employment. Hmong women have to bow to clan authority and have no decisional or advisory powers. The government has recently weighed in with The Development Plan for Lao Women, aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination, raising educational levels of women, and improving resources for women’s development.There are no dress restrictions, and women wear both traditional dress and diverse attire, including modern clothing in the cities. One can summerise the women of laos by examining there general view and position in society as mentioned earlier, education standards, Legal rights, and family life. When it comes to Legal rights The Lao constitution recognizes full equality of women, and Laotian women have had the right to vote since 1958. They also have equal rights to inheritance, particularly in the matrilineal groups. Among patrilineal highlanders, sons inherit house and land, while daughters receive a substantial dowry. Jewelry and woven cloth are passed on to the daughters. A significant issue in the inheritance of land is the fact that many women don’t realize that their name can be added to their husband’s name on a land title to ensure that the land will pass to the wife. A larger issue is that men, in general, are tasked with dealing with people outside of the local community and therefore tend to make all major contractual agreements for the family. The relatively recent Family and Inheritance Laws attempt to address these Tedesco 5 issues.Women have the right to drive vehicles and, in fact, the number of Lao women who drive motorcycles and cars equals that of men. Women do not have the right to an abortion in Laos and many cross the border into Thailand for the procedure. Divorce, rather rare in Laos, can be initiated by either of the spouses, and child custody is granted to either parent. If a husband and wife cannot agree on custody, the court decides which parent should have custody after considering the children’s interests. Education is hghly important in laos culture. Even though the government enshrined the principle of compulsory primary education in the 1991 Constitution, the law has not been fully implemented due to the uncertain economic situation. Lao women generally receive less education than men. The literacy rate for females (aged 15 and above) was 60.9 percent in 2003, compared to the male rate of 77 percent There were less than 1,200 women with diploma-level high technical training (in communications, transport, irrigation, architecture, electronics, forestry, agriculture, law, and business administration) in 1997-98, compared to more than 3,700 men with the same training. There were, however, 1,361 women with university degrees in the disciplines of medicine, humanities, and science, compared to 1,811 men with university degrees during the same period. Classrooms are shared between students of both genders in Laos. Lao women are not allowed to becoming Buddhist nuns and generally do not have the same opportunities as men because of their lower educational levels and higher domestic responsibilities. Tedesco 6 When it comes to family life Lao men and women have considerable freedom to choose a partner or spouse. Cousins are sometimes the preferred choice. Often parental input is necessary, particularly among patrilineal groups. The Hmongs sometimes practice “marriage by capture,” in which the man and his friends take the woman from her home by force.During the dating period, a man would typically have to pay a visit to the girl’s parents as a gesture of respect and take a brother or sister along as chaperone. Even in arranged marriages, men have to seek parental consent to court their future wives. If the woman refuses her arranged husband, the man's family is disgraced.Early marriage and pregnancy are common in rural Laos, and most adolescent women marry and bear children when they are 16 to 17 years of age (their husbands are typically a year or two older). In the more urban areas, the average age of marriage is slightly higher at 17 to 18 years of age. Prevailing norms require a woman to bear a child every year during her reproductive period, and childlessness carries a definite social stigma. Polygamy is widely practiced, and men purchase very young girls who are made to live with the man’s family until they reach reproductive maturity. Men are heads of household in the matters of religion, business, and politics. Women have the right to hold assets separate from their husbands, if they were acquired before marriage. As regards matrimonial property, both spouses have equal rights, irrespective of who acquired it. Women generally take their husband’s name after marriage, and her name is further transformed after the birth of the child. Hmong women, however, continue to use their father’s clan-name even after marriage. Tedesco 7 In conclusion Lao women have long been active participants in their nations society, involved in politics, driving social transformation and development. Due to modernization Lao women have begun to embrace lifestyles that are foreign to traditional Laotian ideals.