Lao women's studies started with this book

Title:  ຜູ້ຍິງລາວໃນອະດິດແລະປະຈຸບັນ Lao Women Yesterday and Today

By:  Mayoury Ngoasyvathn

Publisher, Year:  Lao State Publishing Enterprise, 1993

ISBN: ?
Cost:  Free download

When this book was first published in 1993 in Laos, it brought together 8 years of research by the author.  It arguably became the first book written solely on the study and topic of Lao women.  In the book, the author provides her analyses and discussions on Lao women's past and current state, their roles in society, their history, their issues and constraints, their contributions, their family and political lives.

I can't help but think what a groundbreaking book this must have been when it was first published.  Indeed, in communist Laos there is the Lao Women's Union (LWU) which was created in 1955 as a way to mobilize women towards the revolutionary cause.  However, there was no published study on Lao women themselves by this organization.  Moreover, even though the nation's revolutionary doctrine promoted the value of equality among all people and genders in Laos, in practice female subordination to men continued.  This book goes into that and much more.

This study is very insightful and detailed.  Of course, some of it is now dated but the value this provides is that it gives us a glimpse of how things were at that time.

It was written bilingually with Lao language in the first half (up to page 132) and the second half in English.  Highly recommended reading for those interested in Lao gender and women's studies.

Here is the full table of contents noted below, for those interested:

Contents (English language version)

Print Details and Thanks pg.i 

Dedication pg.iii 

Table of contents pg.iv 

Quote pg.vii 

Acknowledgements pg.viii

Foreward: Martin-Stuart-Fox pg.1

Introduction pg.4

Abbreviations pg.6 

 

Part 1: The politics of women's powerlessness pg.8

1 - Back to the origins: Women in charge of the earthly kingdom and of the cosmogony pg.9

A) Women in mythos of origin pg.10

B) Women as shamans pg.13

C) Women as goddesses pg.15

D) Women as idols pg.18

2 - Men's self empowerment, women in the social wilderness pg.20

A) The Stigmatised: Demotion of women by Buddhism pg.20

B) The Wretched: Vilification of women by court chroniclers and lawyers from the traditional society pg.22

C) The Frail: Socialisation of women in tradition society pg.30

3 - Economics of the feminisation of poverty pg.40

A) Courting and courtship in pre-modern society pg.44

B) An aspect of modern acculturation prostitution and cash pg.48

C) The replenishment of fresh manpower: The marriage system and women as resilient victims of polygamy pg.64

D) A back breaking chore pg.89

Part 2: Lao women in a changing world pg.95

1 - The trialisation of a policy pg.98

A) Molding a new society pg.98

B) Roots of a powerful conviction pg.102

C) Redefining worth pg. 104

D) The fledgling arm of the women's agenda pg.108

2 - Old values and new ideology pg.116

A) The traditional burdens of rural women pg.117

B) The restless pregnancy, much more rest and fewer children pg.117

C) The challenges for urban women pg.125

3 - The dynamics of female experiences: Barriers, outcomes, and shortcomings pg.136

A) Equality to education pg.136

B) A basic social policy pg.141

C) Women's places pg.145

Conclusion pg.154

Notes pg.156

Appendix pg.166

Bibliography pg.168

Download Link

A PDF scan of this book has been made available for free from the Refugee Educators' Network in the US - their PDF download link.

Related Reading

For those interested in further reading on this topic consider checking out:

Title:  ມູນເຊີ້ອວີລະກຳໃນພາລະກິດປະຕິວັດ ກອງລຳລຽງແບຫາບ368 ກອງກຳລັງໃຟເພດຍິງ769

By:  (multiple authors)

Publisher, Year:  ກົມວິທະຍາສາດ ປະຫວັດສາດ ກອງທັບສຳນັກພິມ ນັກປະພັນລາວ, 2015

ISBN: 9789932405206 

 

Title:  Sinh and Lao Women

By:  Viengkham Nanthavongdouangsy

Publisher, Year: Phaeng Mai Gallery, 2006

ISBN: ? 

 

Title:  Field, Forest, and Family:  Women's Work and Power in Rural Laos

By:  Carol Ireson

Publisher, Year:  Routledge, 2018 

ISBN:  9780813337302 

Title:  Women's Resilience in the Lao People's Democratic Republic - How laws and policies promote gender equality in climate change and disaster risk management

By: Asia Development Bank

Publisher, Year: Asia Development Bank, 2022 

ISBN: 9789292695804 (electronic version) 

Cost:  Download link (free)