ABSTRACT
In the 1990s, given the economic agenda of 1xi MSi, the household had assumed a vital development function full of nationalist significance. Local officials in Quang xã pinned their hopes for prosperity on the household economy and the industriousness of its members. While the kinship system in the xã was decidedly patrilineal, the state focused its attention on the household and the conjugal couple because of their value to the development agenda. Women as the target of state goals and programs therefore continued to have public and economic significance despite the return of the household to a more independent status. The national Women’s Union spelled out the goals for women in 1992:
– improve [women’s] knowledge with regard to economic management, credit, new techniques regarding crops, livestock, traditional handicrafts, housework (n# công gia chánh), and social services.
