Editing Vietnam War (section)

==Women==
{{main|Women in the Vietnam War}}
[[File:Second Lieutenant Kathleen M. Sullivan treats a Vietnamese child during Operation MED CAP, a U.S. Air Force civic... - NARA - 542331.jpg|thumb|A nurse treats a Vietnamese child, 1967]]
Women were active in a large variety of roles, making significant impacts and the war having significant impacts on them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/from-hidden-resistance-to-peace-talks-women-in-the-vietnam-war/6907610|title = From hidden resistance to peace talks: Women in the Vietnam War|website = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date = 4 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.thanhniennews.com/arts-culture/exhibition-honors-vietnamese-female-soldiers-in-vietnam-war-40860.html|title = Exhibition honors Vietnamese female soldiers in Vietnam War|date = 8 April 2015|access-date = 8 August 2024|archive-date = 24 May 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220524125544/http://www.thanhniennews.com/arts-culture/exhibition-honors-vietnamese-female-soldiers-in-vietnam-war-40860.html|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://femmes-guerres.ens-lyon.fr/spip.php?rubrique90|title = Vietnamese women in wartime – Press Photos – Femmes et guerres}}</ref> Several million Vietnamese women served in the military and in militias, particularly in the VC, with the slogan "when war comes, even the women must fight" being widely used.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/alr/vol1/iss53/5|title=Women in the Vietnam War|first=Elizabeth|last=Windschuttle|date=February 15, 1976|journal=Australian Left Review|volume=1|issue=53|pages=17–25|via=ro.uow.edu.au}}</ref> These women made vital contributions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, espionage, medical care, logistical and administrative work, and sometimes direct combat.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://progressive.international/wire/2021-03-09-portraits-of-vietnamese-women-at-war/en|title=Portraits of Vietnamese Women At War|date=2021-03-09|website=Progressive International}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Springer|first=James|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3085401/world-war-ii-anti-nazi-greek-resistance-viet-cong-syrian-kurdish-militia|title=Women in combat, from World War II anti-Nazi Greek resistance to Viet Cong to Syrian Kurdish militia |date=2020-05-22|website=South China Morning Post}}</ref> Women workers took on more roles in the economy and Vietnam saw an increase in women's rights.<ref name="Werner">{{cite journal | last1 = Werner | first1 = Jayne | year = 1981 | title = Women, Socialism, and the Economy of Wartime North Vietnam | journal = Studies in Comparative Communism | volume = 16 | pages = 165–90 | doi = 10.1016/0039-3592(81)90005-3 }}</ref> In Vietnam and elsewhere, women emerged as leaders of anti-war peace campaigns and made significant contributions to [[war journalism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/vietnam-women-reporters-becker/2021/03/26/79477986-8e32-11eb-a730-1b4ed9656258_story.html|title=Three groundbreaking journalists saw the Vietnam War differently. It's no coincidence they were women.|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 28, 2021|author=Margaret Sullivan}}</ref>

However, women still faced significant levels of discrimination during and were often targets of [[Wartime sexual violence|sexual violence]] and [[List of war crimes#1955–1975: Vietnam War|war crimes]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Turse|first=Nick|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/rape-wartime-vietnam/|title=Rape Was Rampant During the Vietnam War. Why Doesn't US History Remember This?|date=2013-03-19|website=Mother Jones}}</ref> Post-war, some Vietnamese women veterans faced difficulty reintegrating into society and having their contributions recognised, as well as advances in women's rights failing to be sustained.<ref name="Lamb 2003">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-10-fg-vietnam10-story.html|title=Vietnam's Women of War|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=10 January 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Healy |first1=Dana |title=Laments of warriors' wives: Re-gendering the war in Vietnamese cinema |journal=South East Asia Research |date=2006 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=231–259 |jstor=23750856 |doi=10.5367/000000006778008149 }}</ref> Portrayals of the war have been criticised for their depictions of women, both for overlooking the role women played and reducing Vietnamese women to racist stereotypes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ly |first1=Lynn |title=(Im)possible Futures: Liberal Capitalism, Vietnamese Sniper Women, and Queer Asian Possibility |journal=Feminist Formations |date=2017 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=136–160 |doi=10.1353/ff.2017.0006 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1180&context=graddis|title=Racism at the Movies: Vietnam War Films, 1968-2002|date=2008|author=Sara Pike|publisher=University of Vermont}}</ref> Women are at the forefront of campaigns to deal with the war's aftermath, such as the long-terms effect of [[Agent Orange]] use and the [[Lai Đại Hàn]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/magazine/laos-agent-orange-vietnam-war.html|title=The Victims of Agent Orange the U.S. Has Never Acknowledged|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 March 2021|last1=Black|first1=George|last2=Anderson|first2=Christopher |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url = http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2071021,00.html|magazine = Time|date = 13 May 2011|last1 = Cain|first1 = Geoffrey|title = Is Time Running Out to Find Soldiers' Remains in Vietnam?|access-date = 25 May 2024|archive-date = 18 October 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221018061109/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2071021,00.html|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/vietnamese-woman-sues-seoul-for-wartime-massacre/a-53258186|title=Vietnamese woman sues Seoul for 'wartime massacre' |date= 27 April 2020|website=DW.COM}}</ref>

When the Vietnam War occurred, from 1962 to 1971, the U.S armed forces sprayed a supplement called "Agent Orange" across South Vietnam.<ref>{{cite book |title=Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam |date=1994 |publisher=National Academies Press (US) |chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236347/ |chapter=The U.S. Military and the Herbicide Program in Vietnam }}</ref> The supplement has two major active components, both 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), containing levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).<ref>{{cite web |title=Facts About Herbicides |url=https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/basics.asp |website=US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration |quote=The two active ingredients in the Agent Orange herbicide combination were equal amounts of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), which contained traces of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). }}</ref> These chemicals pose health hazards, such as immune system disorders, developmental abnormalities, and issues with the reproductive system.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-43044-9.00025-X |chapter=Nonmetallic Toxic Chemical Assessment |title=Textbook of Natural Medicine |date=2020 |last1=Shaw |first1=William |pages=215–222.e2 |isbn=978-0-323-52342-4 |quote=[2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2, 4-D)] is a known endocrine disruptor and can block hormone distribution and cause glandular breakdown. It is linked to immune system damage, birth defects, and reproductive issues, possibly due to its frequent contamination with dioxins. }}</ref> Ever since the Agent orange was used during the Vietnam war, it has suppressed the growth of plants and crops, preventing Vietnamese people from getting fresh, healthy food crops. Agent Orange has had a significant harmful impact on individuals' health and has continued to play a role in polluting Vietnam’s environment. Additionally, Agent Orange has proceeded to get into sediment, where living things like fish and aquatic species are nearby. It has affected the food chain that Vietnamese people are consuming.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aces.illinois.edu/news/toxic-byproducts-agent-orange-continue-pollute-vietnam-environment-study-says#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAfter%20President%20Nixon%20ordered%20the,Sciences%20at%20Iowa%20State%20University. | title=Toxic byproducts of Agent Orange continue to pollute Vietnam environment, study says &#124; College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences &#124; Illinois }}</ref> Even 50 years later, Vietnam is still dealing with the devastation to its environment inflicted by previous wars. In 2018, Vietnam treated 150,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/50-years-later-vietnams-environment-still-bears-the-scars-of-war-and-signals-a-dark-future-for-gaza-and-ukraine-254971#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Cecocide%E2%80%9D%20had%20been,term%20harm%20have%20been%20limited. | title=50 years later, Vietnam's environment still bears the scars of war – and signals a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine | date=28 April 2025 }}</ref> Within recent years, three million people have had illnesses due to Agent Orange.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/agent-orange-in-vietnam-program/health-effects/#:~:text=No%20accurate%20numbers%20exist%20for,parts%20per%20trillion)%20in%20blood.&text=The%20U.S.%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency,of%20contaminated%20soil%20requiring%20treatment. | title=Health Effects }}</ref>