Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HCM CITY, March 6, 2003 — You could be excused for thinking that International Women’s Day is a chance for Viet Nam’s hard-working female population to take a well-deserved break, but at least 10,000 of them will be marking the event with a mass physical exercise demonstration in HCM City this Saturday.

Already predictably being touted as one giant warmup for the SEA Games 2003, the event will put the assembled women through their paces with dance moves co-ordinated to music. Organisers hope to encourage Vietnamese women to exercise regularly for better health and fitness, particulary urban dwellers deprived of open space and fresh air.

With the lure of free T-shirts and hats and prizes up for grabs for the best performers, the organisers hope to raise at least VND10 million from the 45-minute demonstration. Fittingly, all proceeds will go towards the conservation of the Hai Ba Trung Temple, a national historical relic commemorating the country’s first two heroines from the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

The Municipal Women’s Association, the Municipal Department of Sports and Athletics, and the Quadrill&Vera International Ltd are joint organisers of the charity drive to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8.

The fitness demonstration will begin at 7:30am at the September 23 Park in front of the Reunification Palace on Le Duan Street in District 1. To register, contact the HCM City Women’s Association office at 32 Tran Quoc Thao St, District 3, the District 1 Sports Centre, or the District 1 Women’s Association. — VNS