Challenges for Women’s Rights in China

Women rights and gender discrimination have been a problem for many years in china. Various restrictions were imposed on women to suppress them in society. Income discrepancy and traditional gender roles in the country aimed to place women as inferior to their male counterparts.

There are diverse sectors where women face discrimination. Women of the past and present in China have dealt with unfair employment practices. They have had to jump over unnecessary hurdles just to keep up with their male counterparts in society. The Chinese government claims to better prioritize the promotion of gender equality but in reality it does not seem appropriate to say that there is not a single department of life where women are not being suppressed. In jobs, mostly men are preferred over women at high positions. There are a number of contextual examples which demonstrate this discrepancy in the status of women throughout China, and whilst there has been a great deal of movement by women in the popular sphere, others have been brutally repressed by a government dominated by male families. For example, women who have children do not always receive support from their organization or department when they seek maternity leave.

China’s history has seen a higher focus on men being the core of not just their families, but also playing a crucial role in in the country’s overall growth and development. After the era of Confucius, society labeled men as the yang and women as the yin. In this same vein, society views the Yang as active, smart and the dominant half. This compared with the Yin, which is soft, passive and submissive. These beliefs are not as prominent today but they persist enough for there to be a problem.

The tradition begins at birth with boys being the preferred children compared to girls in China. A consensus opinion in the country is that if one has a male child versus a female child, the son will grow into a more successful member of the family. The sons are more likely favored because the issue of pregnancy is a non-factor (as they do not get pregnant if there is a mishap) and they can choose almost any job they desire. Of course, this is something that does not support efforts for gender equality nor women’s rights in China.

In order to build a great socialist society, it is of the utmost importance to arouse the broad masses of women to join in productive activity. Men and women must receive equal pay for equal work in production. Genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the process of the socialist transformation of society as a whole.

A survey done just last year found that 80 percent of Generation Z mothers did not have jobs outside of the home. Importantly, most of those surveyed were from poorer cities. The same survey found that 45 percent of these stay-at-home mothers had no intention of going back to work. They simply accepted their role of caring for the house. Gender equality and women’s rights in China have shifted toward cutting into the history of patriarchal dominance within the country.

Since the Chinese government is not completely behind gender equality in China for women, the feminist movement is still active and stronger than ever. In 2015, the day before International Women’s Day, five feminist activists were arrested and jailed for 37 days. They were just five of an even larger movement of activists fighting against the traditional gender role ideology that has placed females below males. These movements have begun to make great progress towards gender inequality within the country. From 2011 to 2015, a “12th Five Year Plan” had goals of reducing gender inequality in education and healthcare.

The plan also was to increase the senior and management positions and make them accessible for women to apply for those positions. Xi Jinping, the current President of the People’s Republic of China, has proclaimed that the country would donate $10 million to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. During the next five years and beyond, this support will help the women of China and other countries build 100 health projects for women and children. On 1 March 2016, the Anti-domestic Violence Law of the People’s Republic of China took effect. This law resulted in the improvement in legislation for gender equality in China. In June of that year, ¥279.453 billion was put forth toward loans to help women, overall.

’There are a number of contextual examples which demonstrate this discrepancy in the status of women throughout China, and whilst there has been a great deal of progress made in some elements of the popular sphere, others have been repressed by a government dominated by male influence.

Mao Zedong’s famously published collection of speeches entitled The Little Red Book offers a glimpse into the People’s Republic’s public policy in relation to women, as Mao himself is quoted as saying ‘Women hold up half the sky’ and more overtly.’’

In order to build a great socialist society, it is of the utmost importance to arouse the broad masses of women to join in productive activity. Men and women must receive equal pay for equal work in production. Genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the process of the socialist transformation of society as a whole.

China has been widening the gender discrimination gap in the society through a legalized way and there is desperate need to raise the voices in gender equality.