Young film makers challenge gender stereotypes

This is the news that the review panel of the filmmaking competition entitled #HowAbnormal announced in the award ceremony held in Ha Noi this afternoon.

UNDP launched this contest in December 2015 as part of the #HowAbnormal campaign to encourage filmmakers to develop creative films that challenge negative gender stereotypes, bring in different perspectives, and promote equality in the workplace, home and public spaces.

The competition received the enthusiastic participation from young filmmakers across the country. They have put into their lenses the vivid, objective and honest images of widely supposed gender norms. The common stories in our society have been retold from the perspective of the youth, questioning “how abnormal the normal is.”

“Through the use of the #HowAbnormal films and the winning videos presented today, gender norms can be highlighted and the double standards that the public holds on expectations of women and men, boys and girls, brought to light,” Dr Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam, said at the Award Ceremony.

Existing stereotypes in Viet Nam confine women and men to certain roles, positions and careers. According to a UNDP report on women’s leadership in Viet Nam, few women achieve senior government positions. In the civil service, women hold very few senior posts: only nine percent ministers, eight percent vice ministers, and seven percent at director general level.

The campaign is aimed at achieving equality for all, for no one to be held back by any social norms and for all people to achieve their full potential. The campaign will use a series of new videos which depict situations where traditional gender roles have been inverted, in order to provoke people to question, "how abnormal the normal is" and to change perspective and behaviour.

Globally, the world has committed to ‘Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls’ by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals agreed in United Nations headquarters last September with the full support of Viet Nam.

Dr. Mehta cited UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message on this year’s International Women’s Day: “Confucius taught that to put the world in order, we must begin in our own circles. Armed with proof of the value of women leaders at the United Nations, I have spoken out for women’s empowerment everywhere. In speeches at parliaments, universities and street rallies, in private talks with world leaders, in meetings with corporate executives and in tough conversations with powerful men ruling rigidly patriarchal societies, I have insisted on women’s equality and urged measures to achieve it.”

Dr. Mehta called on everyone to take the pledge and make a commitment to shape gender norms towards a more equal and just society. “I strongly believe that each commitment will bring about change and collectively we can create a more just society,” she said.

Gender stereotypes can be deconstructed starting from simple actions. Log onto #HowAbnormal’s page to take the pledge at https://how-abnormal.antoan.org and promote practical solutions to achieve universal gender equality for the social good.  

For more information, please visit:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howabnormal/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/undpvietnam

Media inquiries

Vu Ngoc Bach - UNDP Women Leadership project

Tel: 84 4 3944 8527

Email: vu.ngoc.bach@undp.org

Nguyen Viet Lan  – UNDP

Tel: 84 4 3850 0158

Email: nguyen.viet.lan@undp.org