Together with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement within the whole Military, over the years, emulation movements by military women have been closely associated with the Patriotic Emulation Movement launched by the Vietnam Women’s Union Central Committee via many specific, creative activities and brought about practical results.

Up to now, emulation movements by military women have been carried out in a wide and deep manner, attracted the participation of a large number of members of women’s unions, and helped encourage potential and creativity of the unions’ cadres and members in all fields. In 2019, all military women’s unions launched the signing of member commitment to emulation and set out specific emulation targets in accordance with the task of each union, office, and unit. All cadres and members of military women’s unions registered emulation targets, 96.8% of them fulfilled 3 emulation targets and were given the title of “good member,” and 51.5% of them were presented with the title of “excellent member.” 98% of the military women’s unions were rated “strong” and 56.5% were recognised as excellently strong military women’s unions. Also in the year, 1 union member was honoured with the Vietnam Women Award; in the military creative youth competition, 84 military women took part in 64 scientific researches and 49 of them with 36 researches were given the Creative Youth Award. Those achievements have been attributed to the all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over the unions’ execution of the Determination to Win Emulation Movement.

The Determination to Win Emulation Movement has been launched and carried out in accordance with condition, capacity, and work field of each group of military women, while ensuring that all union members would be able to participate in the Movement and perform their role. Forms of emulation have been diversified and closely associated with the Patriotic Emulation Movement launched by the Vietnam Women’s Union and the Military’s Determination to Win Emulation Movement and campaigns. Due attention has been paid to promoting self-reliance, creativity, and role of military women’s union in executing emulation movements in line with their practical conditions and their units’ particularities and tasks. In the process, great value has been attached to improving material and spiritual life of the unions’ cadres and members, particularly those living in difficulty and working in the remote, isolated areas and in the units tasked with training, combat readiness, and production.

Women across the Military have adopted various creative and effective approaches and models for executing the Determination to Win Emulation Movement. The all-level military women’s unions have maintained over 300 emulation models in all fields. In the process, significance has been attached to multiplying effective models for others to study and follow. In 2018, 76 outstanding emulation models were presented with the Certificate of Merit by Commander of the General Department of Politics, such as “stepping into the duty office like entering your battle station,” “exemplary training day,” “exemplary shift,” “women set good examples in military manners,” “women’s self-management mess,” “good teaching, learning and scientific research,” “clinical ward of Dang Thuy Tram,” “practising thrift and stepping up agricultural production,” “group of five-no and three-clean families,” “group of military women’s happy families,” and “military staff’s exemplary families.” Military women’s unions within offices and units have developed new models for the campaign against plastic waste, such as the model of “one deed - two benefits” by women of the General Technical Department. Regarding sports, culture, and art, there have been a large number of models by military women. Typical examples include “dancing” by women of the Navy, “savings for patients’ meals” by women of the Military Region 4, “clean houses, scenic units, and green environment” and “clean vegetables for children” by women of the Artillery Corps, and “multifunctional wastepaper bin” by women of the Political Academy. Cadres and members of the women’s unions across the Military have actively taken part in environment protection campaigns, such as “Saturday without plastics” and “Green Sunday,” while building “green, clean, scenic” barracks with 16,260 working days and planting 12,354 trees of all types. In the Movement entitled “the Military joins hands in constructing new-style countryside and civilised urban areas,” military women have spent nearly 15,000 working days on upgrading and constructing rural traffic roads, building local cultural institutions in their stationed areas, dredging canals, and cleaning up the environment after natural disasters, thereby contributing to stabilising the people’s life and building strong localities in their stationed areas.

Military women giving gifts to women in the frontier area

The all-level military women’s unions have always combined the Determination to Win Emulation Movement with other campaigns and movements as the basis for creating the synergy for their activities. In addition to campaigns and movements, the all-level military women’s unions have actively implemented the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05 and the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Directive 87 on studying and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle as well as the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Directive 855 on enhancing the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new period. They have also grasped and well executed the Guidance 1541/HD-CT, dated September 6^th, 2018 by the General Department of Politics on realising the 12^th Party Central Secretariat’s Directive 21-CT/TW, dated January 20^th, 2018 on “continuing to step up the women-related work in the new situation.” Emphasis has been placed on the Campaigns entitled “improving confidence, self-esteem, honesty, and kindness” and “building five-no and three-clean families” in the period of 2016-2020 as well as the Strategy for developing Vietnamese families towards 2020, with a vision towards 2030. Significance has been attached to promoting the potential, creativity, and proactive role of the all-level military women’s unions and their cadres and members in conducting the Patriotic Emulation Movement and women’s activities as the basis for encouraging them to readily undertake and successfully fulfil all assigned tasks. Doing so has contributed to fulfilling units’ political mission and building pure, strong party organisations, comprehensively strong units, and typically strong military women’s unions.

Besides, emulation movements by military women have always been attached to the implementation of the policy regarding military families. The all-level military women’s unions have encouraged their members to take part in movements, namely “remembering the source when drinking water,” “paying debt of gratitude,” and “the Military joins hands for the poor, no one will be left behind.” In 2019, military women constructed a kindergarten that met level-1 national standards. The all-level military women’s unions have continued to maintain and promote the effective of preschool education and improve the quality of preschool education within the Military. They have maintained 263 kindergartens with 15,683 children and standardised a contingent of preschool teachers (95%). Notably, they have provided inclusive education for 40 children with disabilities. Units’ kindergartens located in the strategic, isolated, remote areas have well implemented the policies on educational privatisation, ethnicity, and religion, while taking care of 2,341 ethic minority children. In the school year of 2018-2019, 34 collectives and 69 individuals were honoured with the Certificate of Merit by Commander of the General Department of Politics.

One of the determinants to military women’s implementation of the Determination to Win Emulation Movement is the all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction. Thanks to the all-level party committees and commands’ routine leadership and direction, the quality and effectiveness of encouraging members to participate in their unions’ activities have been improved. All female cadres, employees, and workers in units across the Military have been encouraged to take part in the all-level unions’ activities by the units’ party committees and commands. As a result, the all-level military women’s unions have kept achieving a reform in the content and method of their operations and gathering a large number of their members to join emulation movements in accordance with their demands and aspirations, thereby greatly contributing to fulfilling units’ political task. Cadres of the all-level military women’s unions have always heightened their responsibility, frequently grasped units’ political task and the practical situation, and proactively advised units’ party committees and commands on measures for leadership over the improvement in women’s role in executing political task and building comprehensively strong units. At the same time, they have effectively carried out the work of member education and attached great value to preschool education within the Military so that members of the all-level military women’s unions could keep their mind on their work.

To meet the requirements set by the Determination to Win Emulation Movement, military women will continue stepping up emulation movements aimed at improving units’ task performance, perfecting the image of military women, and making the all-level military women’s unions increasingly strong and capable of successfully fulfilling the assigned missions and contributing to building the revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern Military.

Col. Phung Thi Phu, Head of the Military Women Committee