This was said by Mozambican delegates from The Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) after their tour at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum.

The delegation consisted of 20 people, who are currently studying at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics for 3 months. They spent half the day touring around the museum to learn more about Vietnamese women and current gender issues in the country. Despite traveling a long distance and not sharing the same language, the delegates were still passionate about the visit.

The visit soon became a friendly discussion about different topics. On learning more about matrilineal and patrilineal societies in Vietnam, some female delegates confirmed the similarities with their own culture and expressed their pride in the modern-day practice of matriarchy in Mozambique.

The delegates were also interested in the custom of requesting wedding gifts and again found similarities between the two countries. In the exhibition ‘Women’s Fashion”, they were amazed by the ritual of lacquering teeth and enjoyed showing the museum their own custom of face painting and belly tattooing.

While learning about the modern-day lives of Vietnamese women, the delegates were eager to discuss information about several important topics including child marriage, domestic violence and women in the workplace. They were also impressed by the diverse approaches of the Vietnamese Women’s Museum on issues such as human trafficking, domestic violence, street vending and single women. The delegates expressed that they had learned a lot after this meaningful tour.