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Lao Women
by Richard Henderson
If the truth be told, I bought a copy of just-published (November 1993) Lao Women, Yesterday and Today by Dr. Mayoury Ngaosyvathn not because she is a woman but because it seemed like a miracle that anything at all was being published in Laos written by a Laotian, male or female, of her caliber.
In fact I initially plucked it from the shelf because I thought the bookseller, a sagacious Chinese proprietress, had said it was a Lao travel guide written by a Laotian. Indeed the book is printed in Lao and Roman script, making it extremely versatile for residents and visitors alike. In reality it's more about travel in time than travel in places.
Travel in the middle ages: "The [post-1975 state] project to bring educational practices out of the middle ages and into the present day took shape through the universal teaching of literacy and the professional training given to women."
Travel prior to the 20th century: "Cambodian women were afraid when they saw their husbands or their sons going towards the country of the north [Laos]. They knew the power of the seduction of Lao girls and dreaded these sirens, so clever."
Travel after the Revolution: "Socialism has not lived up to its promise." This self-critical statement about socialism was what eventually caught my eye while browsing through Lao Women in the bookstore, and so I said, "I'll take it." I'm glad I did--the writer proved herself to be no couch potato: suffice it to say she lived and breathed the Revolution.
But where did she come from? Having returned from France with a freshly minted Ph.D. in 1975, Dr. Mayoury, according to a biographical note on the inside back cover of Lao Women, was all but immediately appointed Counsellor of the Royal Supreme Court of Laos. Further, she was deputy-director of the Ministry of Justice from 1976 to 1978, and deputy-director for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1986. Research has occupied much of her time since, obviously, including a substantial interval as a Fulbright scholar.
With the first Foreword in Lao Women by Sisana Sisane, Chairman of the Committee for Social Sciences, Lao P.D.R., as well as a second Foreword by Martin Stuart-Fox, University of Queensland, Australia, Dr. Mayoury herself then sets the pace of her studious labor in the Introduction: "It was during these times [after 1975] that people could really feel that they were making history, that things could change, that things had to change--everything seemed to combine into an immense convivial society, [and] sharing was the key word of the time. There was a real glow in the history of the country then. But it was short-lived in real time, and unfortunately awfully narrow in scope too. Reality rapidly took command."
The overall text being broken in two parts, Dr. Mayoury writes in the first part, The Politics of Women's Powerlessness: "The aim of most [Lao] folk tales was to educate people, women particularly. Such tales developed an overall morality which served as a code of behavior that all women had to learn. Thus women were socialized according to the views of men. Relying on the husband for protection, honor, and security, traditional Lao society imposed upon women a heavy burden."
And Dr. Mayoury writes in the second part, Lao Women In A Changing World: "Numbering more than half the population, Lao women constitute the country's backbone. Women constitute half of society; if they are not emancipated, half the society won't be liberated. This phrase from Lenin has been embodied in several aspects of the policy of the Lao ruling party. It is a heritage of socialism to handle this age old problem of humanity. For more practical reasons also, if women constitute more than half of the population, to liberate them is to free the most important part of the work force which could possibly influence the other half, or men. Until 1975, politics was not part of women's lives." In some quarters it has often been said that anatomy is destiny; Dr. Mayoury would obviously agree that this cliché remains true in Laos.
As revolutions are usually about economics, it's also an appropriate time to repeat a telling paragraph from an article titled "EVO-ECONOMICS" in the closing issue of The Economist for 1993: "Evolutionists and economists found themselves arguing that individuals do things for the good of the larger group only if it is also for the good of the individual. Animals rarely do selfless things for their species. And people rarely do selfless things for the good of the society. (If it were otherwise, communism might have stood a better chance.)"
But the article concluded on an upbeat note: "Naive economics and naive sociobiology still teach that people are ruthlessly self-interested [that is, survival of the fittest]. But where the two disciplines have come together, a much sunnier side of mankind's nature has emerged. People are opportunistic seekers of cooperation. Nice guys, far from finishing last, may in fact attract the kind of cooperation that enables them to come out ahead."
Readers of Lao Women, Yesterday and Today can be sure that Dr. Mayoury, despite her apprehension (which frequently borders on cynicism) will do just that. In addition, readers will be gratified to learn that Sisana Sisane's Foreword gives evidence that Lao revolutionary experience now offers an extended, open hand and wears an inquisitive, human face.
Lao Women is available in paperback at the Raintree Bookstore and the Government bookstore in Vientiane. Both are within walking distance of the National Library.