Abstract: This article attempts to comprehend the status and power of women in Vietnamese political life. The first section of this paper presents briefly the political participation of women in history, providing background information to the current situation. The following section gives insights into the political leadership of women in the contemporary era of Vietnam’s current Government. Historical evidence shows that although having a matriarchal tradition and being active in various domains over time, women’s participation in the political/state affairs tended to be most outstanding during the war times. After the war, women tended to recede into the background of political life, and take up their ‘traditional’ responsibilities. Gender inequality in Vietnamese political leadership today is still a quite serious problem. Women’s political power is relatively restricted in comparison to that of men, in all levels and areas of the country’s contemporary political life. Keywords: Women, Policy, Political Participation, Gender Equality.

Abstract: Drawing on results of the quantitative and qualitative survey (N=292), which was implemented in Phu Da commune, Phu Vang suburban district, Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam in 2005, this paper measures rural peasants’ attitude towards non-marital sex and compares it among social groups. Our findings show that rural people’s conception of premarital sex is more open than before. However, premarital sex without love or intention of marriage is severely opposed. Recently-married people and highly-educated people tend to be more open-minded about premarital sex. Those who have had premarital sex are more likely to adopt nonmarital sex. Fidelity, however, is still an important value in matrimony and family in the rural area. Attitude and behaviour towards premarital sex are a reliable criterion for measuring fidelity in matrimony. There still appears gender discrimination in nonmarital sex in the rural area, in which women are more restricted. Furthermore, the study indicates the trend of personalizing sexual activity, transforming from outside social control to inside family control. Keywords: Gender, Family, Sexual Relations, Premarital Sex, Rural.