| CONTENTS Discussing: Contemporary Issues Challenging: Women Issues Reading: Research Article Learning: History Guessing: Proverbs & Riddles Studying: Literature Visiting: Photo Gallery Admiring: Art Gallery Listening to: Hmong Radios Enjoying: Tales for Children Taking: Courses of Cult & Language |
| Trilingual Website Français English Hmoob Index/Themes Index/Year |
 |
| CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Encouragement for the Hmong Women to Collective Actions by Kao-Ly Yang, Ph.D. Join the Free Discussion Group: "Hmong Women Network" I wrote this message just after a very dense period of activism among some of the Hmong women in Fresno. Many have participated to fundraising Dr. Tony Vang's campaign for School Board at the Fresno Unified School District, California. And of course, Dr. Vang won the seat. Then some launched the support of the Bill AB78 initiated by Assembly Women, Sarah Reyes, at the end of 2002. The Bill finally passed too. It was a big success, not only for the group of supporters, but also for the whole Hmong community in the Central Valley in California. As I want to see this movement continue on after such a rich time of actions, I wrote this email to these women to encourage them to pursuit their community activities. There is need of disinterested leadership and female leadership in the Hmong community. I took this opportunity to highlight the need of a more progressive leadership who could combine traditional as well as modern approaches. I hope this message will help some of them to think of the best way to help the community to find a place in the Mainstream society. Enhancing a community needs actions as well as time of reflection to better analyze community growth. Content: To: (some of Hmong women in Fresno; CA) Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 11:58 PM Subject: Encouragement for Hmong Women to Collective Actions Hello Everyone, I wrote this message to you all because I would like encouraging you to pursuit this kind of collective effort to make a difference in your life, in the life of your loved ones as well as in the whole community, and this, as a Hmong woman with all your heritage and specific path. I have many thoughts to share with you on Hmong women's issues that I believe important, but I do hesitate and wait until now because I think it is important for all of you to experience-- by yourselves-- a collective experience, and to define your collective identity, to design your perspective of being a female leader, your principle as a group, your collective vision, and so to grow old into maturity in doing, in learning by doing mistakes and by dialoguing with your family, husband, other women and the whole community. I hope they will help you to better focus your effort on what you would like to commit your time and energy. Today, I would like to share with you the important, very important, even fundamental and essential, reasons, for which women need to gather as a group. 1. There is need of female leaders and of professional diversity. The young women should see different types of role models, not only in the roles of mother and of wife or of daughter. There is need in combining professional life and duties, and family life and responsability. There is need of public and high figures of female leaders that could show generosity, advocacy skills for a better quality of life for the whole community. The debate of being a woman, especially a Hmong woman, should open new perspectives: I believe it is important to surpass, to go beyond the representation of being a Hmong woman equaling to being only a wife, mother, assistant and/or dancer. Being a woman means that you could stand on your own: you may want to attend a banquet, a party as a professional. You don't always need -- publicly -- your husband to represent you. It is progressive but it is a new step for your all. In your meeting, you need to set up, to list your values, the reasons why you are together, the topics that you would like to work on so that there will be changes that will truly impact your community. Real, true debates -- without worries of making people tu siab, chim (hurt each other) --should be engaged with the female Elderly and the younger ones. You have to think of you in term of a group instead of clan members or individuals. You have to make the effort to see the impact of such actions in the long term instead of short and personal interests. 2. There is need for Hmong women to support each other for professional growth. You need each other, as women, to learn from each other, how to walk out of the closet to the street to acquire more skills, abilities and capacities, to express your feelings and to increase your understanding of Hmong and mainstream issues that affect your community. Life is surprising. Let's remember that each of us is the pearl of ONE chain. Each pearl CANNOT make the whole chain: we need each to build the chain because the chain is very important for the group to survive and to develop as well as to strengthen the growth. Let's wear it even if each pearl may not be of the same seize, or have the same form or values. By wearing/recognizing its values, all the pearls will be bonded together to one big chain. Otherwise, the chain is like a network that will strengthen your life if all of you accept to recognize each other's skills, talents or difference and to learn to listen to each other in making the effort to undersdand one another's vision of female roles, of progress and of community development. 3. I think it is a turning point for the Hmong community to increase women's skills, abilities and leadership as well as their participation, as leaders, visible, recognized leaders in public gatherings. The Hmong men should and must encourage their wives, their sisters, their female friends, in any occasions to develop their leadership; they should and must give to women this opportunity to grow old into maturity; they should and must create opportunities to women to learn about how to behave as a leader, as outstanding and outspoken leaders, to teach cultural competency or simply to initiate them into how to work with different generations and different economic situations that exist in our present community. No matter what social status Hmong women have, whether they are single women, divorced women or widowed women, there must not be any social constraint for them to stand up as true leaders. The leadership does not come from conjugal issues and cultural biases: it must come from what each of us can do to improve all lives in giving the best of us. I think it is crucial for me to share these ideas with you all. You have enough taken care of details, of writing minutes and organizing parties. Some of you truly have strong skills of leadership --not only to serve other women--but also the whole community. Let's have the courage to gather people, to stand up for values that are essential to improve your life wherever you live, to set up new role models with strong family values as well as professional skills and visions. Sometimes, it is good to forget and to forgive past acts, to set up collective agendas to reach a better life of the whole group. Let's learn to move on, to move forward, to understand and to accept that the best, the excellent should come after conflicts. We don't need to be the first or the pioneer in any fields, what we need is to be the best and the most humane in serving the interest of the group with generosity and compassion. Nkauj Hli Yaj PhD (Kao-Ly Yang) France, written in April 2003, reedited in March 2005 Copyright © 2003 Kao-Ly Yang All rights reserved |
 |
| Professional Background Hobbies Consultation Service Rules Website Spirit Copyright to Kao-Ly Yang All rights reserved |
| TOPICS OF 2003 Janvier Kuv phooj ywg tus zoo tshaj Mon meilleur ami My Best Friend February Neeg no yeej paub tsis tag txog nws tus kheej Essai: commentaire et analyse du texte d'Alain "L'homme est obscur à lui-meme" Essay: Comment and analysis of the text of the French Philosopher Alain "Human Being is obscure to itself" February (Guest Writer: Zhang Xiao) Hmoob suav thiab Hmoob poob teb chaw puas yog tib pab t ib pawg neeg? Le fondement et les caractéristiques de l'identité miao et hmong Common basis and characteristics of the Miao and the overseas Hmong Identity April Maiv thawj tug hlub Le premier amour de May May's First Love August Poj niam kev mus ntseeg ntuj La raison de conversion des femmes hmong au christianisme A Hmong Women's Reason to Convert to Christianity Poj niam kev yeej pheej xaiv coj kev ntseeg La problématique de la liberté de croyance chez les femmes Women's Issues on Freedom of Beliefs September Kev ntsuas thiab luj khoom Quelques systèmes de mesure et de pesée Traditional Systems of Measuring and of Weighing October Paj huam hais txog cov neeg laus kev sib hlub Une histoire d'amour du troisième âge A Piece of Hmong Elderly Love November Niam Nkauj Ntsuab Paj Nra Yaj Miss Hmong Pada Yang November Kev cob qhia poj niam hmoob rov los pab haiv neeg hmoob Encouragement pour les femmes hmong aux actions collectives Encouragement for the Hmong Women to Collective Actions November Keeb Kwm Tsim txoj cai AB78 Histoire de la proposition de loi AB78 History of the Assembly Bill AB78 November Kev sib cog lus ua niam txiv sib hlub mus tas ib txhis Contract de mariage entre Nushilong et Gaojoua Marriage contract between Nusheelong and Gaojua Vim licas Saub tsis nrog hmoob nyob? Pourquoi Shao a t-il abondonné les Hmong? Why did Shao leave the Hmong people? November 24 Hmoob cov teeb meem cov loj tshaj rau xyoo 2000 Analyse des problématiques des Hmong Américains-recensement de 2000 Analysis of Hmong American most sensitive issues - Census 2000 December Kuv kev ntshaw rau peb Hmoob rau lub xyoo tshiab 2004 Mes souhaits de bonne année pour 2004: devenir conscient(e) des besoins d'éduquer une nouvelle génération de Hmong intellectuels My Wish for 2004: Becoming Aware of the Need to raise a New Generation of Hmong Intellectuals |