EP#2: Every Woman Deserves Respect!

Host: Pham Thai Phuong

Guest: Ms. An Khanh – Hera Club”

Duration: 13 minutes

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Welcome, viewers, to the second episode of The RightHand Podcast – A place to share stories about how good deeds come to be. I am Pham Thai Phuong, host of this Podcast series. Coming to this second episode, we have An Khanh, full name Nguyen Thi An Khanh, Founder and President of the Hera Club, a club that fits suitably this podcast’s audience today on the theme of “Every woman deserves to be respected,” especially on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day.

Anh Khanh, please introduce a little about yourself and your Hera club!

• Hello audience, I am An Khanh. To introduce the Hera Club, this is a club founded in November 2022 by 8 students with the same goal of protecting women. We chose the name Hera because in Greek mythology, Hera is the goddess of marriage and the patron saint of family life. Hera is also a stylized spelling of the English word “heroine”, the main female character in literary works. Through this name, we want to clearly express our mission of supporting and protecting victims of domestic violence and broken marriages like the work of goddess Hera, giving them strength to be able to confidently return to the female protagonist of her life story.

Was there any important event that motivated you to found this club?

• I decided to found the Hera club after going through a situation that I once encountered. In the past, a group of friends and I were walking on the street when we accidentally witnessed a violent scene between a strange couple. Furthermore, I already have a great concern for the topics of feminism and gender equality.

So what are the goals that the club is aiming for on the topic of women’s rights and combating violence against women?

• Our operational goal is to disseminate knowledge and volunteer activities to support victims of domestic violence, propagate and raise community awareness of this problem and other related problems that exist in married life.

So what has your club accomplished so far in its journey to protect women?

• Up to now, we have posted many media posts about various forms of violence against women, including economic violence, sexual violence, mental violence… We have also organized a volunteer trip to Moc Chau to spread the club’s message to the people there.

Can An Khanh share more about the role of women in family and society in fields such as politics, work, or science?

• In the family, women, typically mothers, play a very important role in preparing meals and nutrition for the whole family. Women are also the primary caregivers for children and the elderly in many countries around the world. Many international studies also show that when an economy or a society’s political institutions change, women will take the lead in helping families and communities adapt to changes and challenges. new and “new normal”. Despite significant obstacles, many small and medium-sized businesses run by women in diverse communities around the world are growing. The role and voice of women in the urban and rural workforce have also increased exponentially in recent decades. That’s the information I already know.

Please share more about your personal feelings about physical and sexual violence against women.

• My feelings towards this problem can be summed up in two words: “anger” and “worry”. I’m angry and frustrated because I can’t understand why a human being can casually commit such cruel and cruel acts on another human being. I am also very afraid for the victims who have to go through this problem, part of this feeling comes from past experiences that I have witnessed.

Until now you have not mentioned men. Perhaps the audience will want to hear more about the role of men in supporting women’s rights and preventing domestic violence against women.

• First, in protecting women’s rights, men’s participation in gender equality movements helps strengthen the efforts of this movement. Although many men do not regularly display violent or sexist behavior, this is not enough. We all need to join hands to contribute to the process of promoting changes in society, encouraging other men to also treat the women around them more kindly. Basically, men can reconsider their own thoughts, ways of thinking, and incorrect judgments about women. Some other forms that men can take are online actions to protect women’s rights, including signing online petitions, participating in national and local campaigns, and raising awareness. of themselves and the community on the issue of gender discrimination, participating in organizations that promote gender equality. Men, in particular, can also speak out against acts of discrimination and discrimination against women. Anti-violence is similar, but the most straightforward is men who can stand up against sexist concepts, as well as control and discipline themselves so that they do not become perpetrators of such violence. that act against women. Men who are famous, influential, or hold high power in business can become active figures who speak out against those problems. 

Please talk more about the ways that men can be allies to women in this struggle.

• In my opinion, there are 3 ways. The first is Listening, I say “listening” here because it is one of the easiest things to do and very necessary to be able to motivate anyone, especially a group. who have suffered too much oppression for too long. Men can listen to women’s thoughts and their desires about this struggle. Second, men can respect women’s limitations and experiences instead of judging, because those women have been through quite a lot. The third thing is that men can also speak up for women. This is not easy, because men who speak up to defend women’s rights will easily be judged by other men or women who have many prejudices.

Since the beginning of the session, we have mainly talked about the current state of the struggle for women’s rights, so what about its future?

• I think the future of this struggle is quite positive. It can be seen that the role, capacity and importance of women in the workplace will be increasingly emphasized than before, this trend we can already see now. I think in the future this will develop in an upward direction. I also think that more and more laws and policies will be proposed to protect women’s rights. For example, recently in the US there was a law against abortion for women, but the public reaction was very strong, so in the future I believe that this law will soon have to change. That’s my perspective.

So what do you think the steps towards gender equality will include?

• First of all, it is necessary to empower women, give them opportunities and platforms so they can speak up. Second, there is a need to invest in health care, support employment and development opportunities for women in businesses, and promote the development of female leaders. Another thing that is more difficult but fundamental, bringing about the most important steps in the process of achieving gender equality, is to change society’s awareness and change existing stereotypes about women. condensation.

Thank you An Khanh for your views on the future of women’s rights. Before ending this podcast, do you have any message about International Women’s Day today? In your opinion, what does this holiday mean and its importance for gender equality?

• I think this holiday has a very important meaning, it was born as a milestone of the persistent struggle for women’s rights. According to the World Economic Forum, sadly, none of us who have listened to this podcast can see complete equality, even the reality of gender inequality that can last for several generations. next. Gender equality will not be achieved for at least another century, so the existence of this holiday serves as a tribute and honor to the efforts of women.

So is your club organizing any events on March 8?

• We have created a number of posts on our Fanpage on the topic of honoring the achievements of women in the past century. To send our love to women, we also want to emphasize the achievements and efforts that women have made.

Thank you An Khanh for participating in sharing with us in this podcast. Before ending today’s episode, we want to call on the audience of this program to participate in the fight against gender inequality and against violence against women, both physically and mentally. On March 8, we would like to send our wishes to all female audiences, women and girls around the world. Wishing you health, beauty, lucky and happiness.

This is the end of episode 2 of The RightHand Podcast. See you in the next episode.