Vietnamese Women Intellectuals and Global Integration in the First Half of the 20th Century

Abstract

Through a variety of archival materials, newspaper articles, and memoirs, I have presented the role of women intellectuals in Vietnamese society in the early 20th century and their attitudes towards their country’s integration into the world. Historical documents have shown that even though there were few women intellectuals in Vietnam at that time, these women led the country in promoting new attitudes and establishing women’s movement in Vietnam. Through their activities, such as publishing newspapers; writing articles to popularize democratic ideas, feminism, and socialism; organizing forums, fairs, and book rooms; and initiating movements for equality in culture, economics, and politics, Vietnamese women have been an important political and social force that has contributed greatly to the success of the 1945 August Revolution. This revolution has transformed them from “lieges” or “slaves” into “citizens” of the new independent and democratic Vietnam.