Hmong Couples Challenge Sexist Hierarchy Through Compassionate Care Workshops

Mennonite missionaries Memee and Jonah Yang bring a message of equality and mutual respect to traditional Hmong churches in Southeast Asia.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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When Memee Yang attended a Compassionate Care seminar for Hmong couples in Southeast Asia, she noticed the women and men sitting separately. Yang, a Hmong woman herself, asked the women to sit with their husbands, but they said they had never done that before in church. As Mennonite mission associates, Yang and her husband Jonah are working to challenge the sexist hierarchy in traditional Hmong culture and churches by sharing a message of gender equality rooted in the Bible. Through their Compassionate Care workshops, they are helping Hmong couples heal, grow, and learn to love and respect each other.

Why it matters

The Hmong people have faced persecution, war, and displacement for centuries, leading to the perpetuation of traditional gender norms that relegate women to subservient roles. As Christianity spread among the Hmong in the 1950s, these patriarchal structures were often reinforced, rather than challenged. The Yangs' work to reframe biblical teachings around gender equality represents an important effort to dismantle sexist hierarchies within Hmong churches and communities.

The details

The Yangs' Compassionate Care workshops blend Bible study, storytelling, and practices of mutual care and respect. The curriculum is based on the Sister Care program developed by Mennonite Women USA, with additional lessons to help men heal and grow alongside their wives. During the workshops, the men and women are separated at times to allow for more open sharing, before being brought back together to communicate. The response has been encouraging, with men returning from breakout sessions smiling at their wives and even taking on new household tasks like cooking and cleaning.

  • In March 2025, Memee Yang attended a Compassionate Care seminar for Hmong couples in Southeast Asia.
  • In October 2025, the Yangs led two Compassionate Care workshops, including one for 41 church leaders.
  • The Yangs are planning two trips to Southeast Asia in 2026, if funding allows.

The players

Memee Yang

A Hmong woman and mission associate with Mennonite Mission Network, who is working to challenge sexist hierarchies in traditional Hmong culture and churches.

Jonah Yang

Memee Yang's husband and a mission associate with Mennonite Mission Network, who is sharing a message of gender equality rooted in the Bible.

Carolyn Heggen and Rhoda Keener

Developers of the Sister Care program, a women's healing and empowerment curriculum that forms the basis for the Yangs' Compassionate Care workshops.

David Miller

A teaching associate at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary who accompanied the Yangs on their 2025 trips to Southeast Asia.

Mennonite Women USA

The organization that sponsored the Yangs' October 2025 trip to Southeast Asia.

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What they’re saying

“We've never sat in the church with our husbands before. We are not comfortable with that.”

— Hmong women (anabaptistworld.org)

“The woman is formed from the man's side, not to imply hierarchy but shared identity and equality.”

— Jonah Yang, Mission associate, Mennonite Mission Network (anabaptistworld.org)

“Memee said you can cry, but in the Bible, it says do not cry.”

— Pastor (anabaptistworld.org)

“You don't see a [Hmong] man who cooks with his wife or does the dishes.”

— Memee Yang, Mission associate, Mennonite Mission Network (anabaptistworld.org)

“God does not force us, and we don't force people.”

— Memee Yang, Mission associate, Mennonite Mission Network (anabaptistworld.org)

What’s next

The Yangs are planning two more trips to Southeast Asia in 2026 to continue their Compassionate Care workshops, if they can secure the necessary funding.

The takeaway

The Yangs' work to challenge sexist hierarchies in traditional Hmong culture and churches represents an important effort to promote gender equality and mutual respect within these communities. Their Compassionate Care workshops provide a model for how to have respectful, Bible-based conversations that can lead to healing and growth for both men and women.