French colonial rule in Vietnam (1858-1954) resulted in, for the first time, the formal education of Vietnamese girls. By the 1920s a small percentage of young Vietnamese women were enrolled in colonial schools where they learned, in addition to home economics and child rearing, the French language, French history, and French literature. As a result, they were able to read newspapers, novels, and other writings on a variety of subjects and issues. This ability thrust them into the public sphere of political debates in colonial Vietnam. A significant number of these young women were politicized in the process and expressed their political views in a number of ways, including student protests and strikes.
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