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I come from a traditional Vietnamese upper middle class family. I am the first child and I also have two younger sisters. Asian cultural in general and Vietnamese cultural specifically, women are not well respected than men. They are convinced that only men are capable of having a special place in society, which means they can do great things. Women exist only to give birth to their children. A form of gender prejudice is evident even at family gatherings, where the men sit in an area separate from the women, and the women are not permitted to sit with them or are aware that they should not. The women are usually responsible for cleaning up after dinner and washing the dishes, while the men sit around chatting and drinking. We are not allowed to voice our opinions as women, nor are we allowed to make decisions based on our opinions.  As I witnessed how the women around me were being treated, I thought to myself, “I am going to be the first woman in this whole terrible family to change things and prove them wrong.”. As a result, I became the first member of the family to study abroad.

I have been in the UK for 2 years and I have learnt a lot in this journey. It is my responsibility as a Media Ambassador for the Vietnamese Students Association (SVUK) to work with Vietnamese societies from all over the UK and with the Vietnamese Embassy in order to create value for the Vietnamese community. Aside from this, I also serve as the social media manager for the Vietnamese society at UAL, which facilitates the connection between Vietnamese students and international students who are passionate about our culture. I did not find it easy to decide to step outside of my comfort zone to do all these things because, before all of that, I was just a little girl who had never done anything like that before. If I wish to change other people’s opinion of women, I must first be successful, and then I must be the first person to change.

“Beneath all my success and accomplishments,

You know I’m actually vulnerable,

As vulnerable as any ordinary girl.

I’m so used to the way society works,

Envious and hostile when a woman takes charge.

But I hope my mission will still be accomplished, 

And the world needs me like I need you.”

– tlinh, superwoman-

This song by Tlinh, a female feminist Vietnamese artist, has been empowering and inspiring to me. As women, we are capable of doing anything a man is capable of doing. However, as women, we are fragile, we need love, and we want to be respected and loved for who we are. We are women and we need you.

 In my family, my parents have three daughters, and I would love to be the first to accomplish all these things among them, so that my sisters can look up to me and do the same or even better than I did. We will make our mother proud as daughters.