Young talent symphony concert 'Girls deserve to shine'
WVR - On December 10, UNFPA in partnership with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) organized a young talent symphony concert “Girls deserve to shine” at the Vietnam Academy of Music in Hanoi.
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| The young talent symphony concert “Girls deserve to shine” at the Vietnam Academy of Music in Hanoi on December 10, 2022. (Source: UNFPA) |
Following the two successful concerts in 2020 and 2021, this year’s concert features young woman soloists, and it aims at raising public awareness and promoting the value of women and girls in society, particularly to address gender-biased sex selection and gender-based violence in Vietnam.
This is also UNFPA’s contribution to Vietnam’s national action Month for gender equality and prevention and response to gender based violence, as well as to the global 16-Day Campaign to end violence against women and girls.
Under the direction of the well-known conductor, Mr. Honna Tetsuji, the young talented Vietnamese musicians will play the famous works by the world’s well-known composers. They include: Harp Concerto Bb-major, Op. 4 No. 6, HWV 294 by GEORG FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL; Andante e Rondo for Viola and Orchestra by CARL MARIA von WEBER; Hungarian Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra by DAVID POPPER; Grand Polonaise Brilliante, Op. 22 by FREDERIC CHOPIN; Double Bass Concerto, Op. 3 (1st & 2nd movements) by SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY and A Midsummer Night’s Dream Suite by FELIX MENDELSSOHN.
Gender equality in Vietnam has improved over the past decades, and the revised Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control was approved by the National Assembly in November to integrate the rights-based and survivor-based approach in Vietnam’s legal instruments. This reflects Vietnam’s strong commitment to addressing domestic violence and gender-biased sex selection as harmful practices against women and girls.
In Vietnam, nearly 2 out of 3 women experienced one or more form of violence in their life time, according to the National Study on Violence against Women conducted by MoLISA and GSO with support from UNFPA and Australia. And violence against women and girls is hidden in Vietnamese society, as more than 90% of women never sought any services, and more than half never told anyone about it.
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| Ms Pauline Tamesis, the UN Resident Coordinator, gave her opening remark. (Source: UNFPA) |
Meanwhile, gender-biased sex selection as a harmful practice remains persistent in Vietnam, and it has been identified as the major cause of an imbalance in the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) in the country. The skewed SRB in Viet Nam towards more boys has rapidly increased and reached 111.5 boys per 100 girls in 2019 as indicated in the 2019 Population and Housing Census on, against the biologically “normal” SRB of 105-106 boys per 100 girls. Vietnam’s SRB is the third highest in Asia. Evidence shows that this demographic imbalance is a result of pre-natal sex selection, which is the termination of pregnancy when the fetus is determined to be female. The 2019 Population and Housing Census estimates that every year, 45,900 female births are missing in Vietnam.
The situation on gender-based violence and gender-biased sex selection has to be changed immediately, and it is the key message of the concert.
In her opening remark, Ms Pauline Tamesis, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, called for everyone’s attention and action: “Tonight I want to appeal to everyone, especially the young Vietnamese to help spread the concert’s message and be the agent for change. Let’s say NO to domestic and gender-based violence against women and girls. Let’s say NO to son preference and gender-biased sex selection. Let the power of music bring us all together towards inclusive, equitable and sustainable development in Vietnam.”
