What was the role of women in the anti-imperial struggle in Vietnam? Compare this with the role of women in the nationalist struggle in India.

The role of women in the anti-imperial struggle in Vietnam:

(i) In the 1960s, photographs in magazines and journals showed women as brave fighters. There were pictures of women militia shooting down planes. They were portrayed as young, brave and dedicated. Stories were written to show how happy they felt when they joined the army and could carry a rifle.

(ii) Women were represented not only as warriors but also as workers: they were shown with a rifle in one hand and a hammer in the other. Whether young or old, women began to be depicted as selflessly working and fighting to save the country. As casualties in the war increased in the 1960s, women were urged to join the struggle in larger numbers.

(iii) Many women responded and joined the resistance movement. They helped in nursing the wounded, constructing underground rooms and tunnels and fighting the enemy. Along the Ho Chi Minh trail, young volunteers kept open 2,195 km. of strategic roads and guarded 2,500 key points.

(iv) Between 1965 and 1975, out of the 17,000 youth who worked on the trail, 70 to 80 per cent were women. One military historian argues that there were 1.5 million women in the regular army, the militia, the local forces and professional teams.

(v) By the 1970s, as peace talks began to get underway and the end of the war seemed near, women were no longer represented as warriors. Now the image of women as workers begins to predominate. They are shown working in agricultural co-operatives, factories and production units, rather than as fighters.

Comparison between the role of Vietnamese women and the role of Indian women in nationalist struggle of India:

(i) Some Indian women join political parties since beginning and participation in meetings organised against the British government. Even some of the women went in Europe and US to join secret society to help revolutionists and to become active participant of Gadar Party.

(ii) During the age of Bal, Pal and Lal (the three great radical leaders of the Indian National Movement), women participated in anti-Bengal Partition Movement, Boycott and Swadeshi Movement during the age of Gandhi. They joined first and second Non-Cooperation movements.

(iii) The main impressive features of the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930-1940 was the large scale participation of Indian women. During Gandhiji’s salt march, thousands of women came out of their homes to listen to him. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail. In urban areas these women were from high-caste families, in rural areas they came from rich peasant households.

(iv) Moved by Gandhiji’s call, they began to see service to the nation as a sacred duty of women, yet this increased public role did not necessarily mean any radical change in the way the position of women was visualised. Gandhiji was convinced that it was the duty of women to look after home and hearth, be good mothers and good wives. And for a long time the Congress was reluctant to allow women to hold any position of authority within the organisation. It was keen only on their symbolic presence.