History and Evolution of Chinese Women's Rights - Research Paper Example

The history and evolution of Chinese women' rights Introduction China also known as the people’s republic of china has had one of the male chauvinistic social structure in the world. For a long time in the history of the country, males dominated the society. They controlled the politics and the governance of the society. However, the country began implementing reforms that promised to uplift the status of women in the society. In 1949, the country experienced a major political change as the civil war ended with the defeat of the Koumintang government under General Chiang Kai-shek. This created way for the formation of the communist government in the country under the name of the People’s Republic of China (Johnson 121). The new government committed to implementing social changes with the aim of uplifting the status of women in the society. The evolution of women’s rights in China has been a slow, painful but steady process discussed in the essay below. The growth and radical changes leading to the modern liberal Chinese society that embraces the gender equality has been slow and with myriad sacrifices, between 1966 and 1976 for example, the country experienced a massive cultural revolution as feminist movements sought the inclusion of women in the governance of the country. At the time of the formation of the new people’s republic of china, the country’s workforce had only seven percent of the women. The new communist government formulated and implemented new radical changes that with the view of increasing the status of women in the new society but the male dominated society resisted most of such changes. By 1992, the percentage of the women in the country’s workforce had risen to thirty eight percent. Marriage in the traditional Chinese society was an arrangement between families. Young girls would be married off to men of the family’s choosing thus nurturing the women in order to befit specific requirements of the spouse’s family. Such arrangement denied women the right and privilege to fall in love and determine their lives. They simply married the men their families thought right for them. The male dominated society thought such to be effective ways of developing strong social ties but at the expense of the girl children. The great Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976 sought to address the social vice that had threatened the development of effective cultures in the society. Prior to the revolution, the communist government had initiated policies that sought to address the vice. In 1950, the government formulated the marriage law. The law provided for the revocation of all previous family arrangements thus setting women previously bound by their families free. The law was a result of effective government research on the effects of such marriages and family arrangement on the social development of the society. By revoking all such arrangements, the governments sought to formulate better and more ethical policies and systems of marriage in the country. The men in the Chinese society opposed the legislation but through concerted government efforts and the works of the numerous feminist movements in the country, the law successful laws. In 1980, the government formulated another family law that banned arranged and forced marriages in the country. By banning such marriages, the government set the children especially the female children free from the dominance of their parents who used benefited from such arrangements. The marriage law of 1950 further permitted women to instigate divorces in the society. This would provide disadvantaged women in the forced, arranged and even purchased marriages the freedom to break away and foster their own independent lifestyles. Prior to the legislation, the society only permitted a divorce if it befitted the man. Additionally, the society also permitted polygamy thus allowing men to marry as many women as they wanted. In fact, the number of women in a homestead symbolized wealth and influence in the society. While polygamy still manifests itself in sections of the country especially in the southern tribes, unlike the historical polygamy the modern polygamy is voluntary. Additionally, currently, the laws of the country protect the interests of women permitting them to initiate divorces and share wealth in the families in the event of a dissolution of a marriage. The government amended the marriage law in 2001 by making concealment of family property during divorce punishable. The law sought to protect the equality in the division of property during divorce. This way, each party in the divorce would obtain equal share of the family wealth besides the special clause that provides for the children in the event of a divorce. The marriage law protects the interest of women in the society. Violence against women in marriages is a criminal offense punishable by the country’s legislations. It is a valid cause of the official dissolution of the marriage. Additionally, the law permits women to instigate divorce cases whenever they feel oppressed in a marriage. However, by 2005, the government discovered that lack of public awareness on both the law and its subsequent amendments perpetuated spousal abuses in marriages. The trend portrayed that despite the effective legislations and the few documented cases of effective execution of the same, the country still needed to carry out elaborate civic education with the view of increasing awareness on the legislation in order to protect women from abuse by their spouses in marriages (Du, Bois 22). Education was yet another social tenet in which the society discriminated against women. Traditionally, the society gave the boy child the priority over the girl child. This explains the evidently smaller number of women in the Chinese work force in 1949. In 1961, the enrolment of girls in primary and secondary schools dropped lowest following the great famine between 1958 and 1961. However, the margin between the boy child and the girl child in the schools has narrowed over time. The government realizes the role of education in the determination of gender equality in the society. additionally, several feminist movement in the society encourage girl child education especially in the rural where according to an 2001 survey, 6% of boys aged between 15-19 are illiterate while 15% of girls in the same age bracket are illiterate. The government of the people’s republic of China has tried over the years to create social equality especially in the receipt of education by the population. The government thus encourages the works of feminist organizations that seek to increase the sensitization and the education of the girl child. Education is instrumental in encouraging social awareness among the population thus increasing the appreciation of gender equality in the society. The 2001 survey also indicated that the margin increased in the institution of higher learning such universities and colleges, which had fewer women than men. The government does not discriminate against women when hiring. While few women are active in the country’s politics, the country’s civil service encourages fairness and equality in its hiring process. The same is attributable to the private sector in the country most of which hire on merit and suitability (Walter 33). Chinese women do not take active part in the country’s politics. The politics in the country to this day has remained a male affair. Of the nine members of the standing committee of the communist party politburo, none is female. In addition, up to 2000, the number of women in the cabinet has risen to only three. The trend depicts the skewed nature of the country’s politics. Despite the formulation and implementation of policies that favor women, the male dominated government has not ratified its system to accommodate a female. China has poor female representation in the country’s parliament currently ranking number twenty in the world having risen several position from the previous fifty-three. The improvement is a result of increased feminist activities in the country by numerous non-governmental organizations and increasing female role models in the society (Terry 21). In 1995, 70% of Chinese women were part of the country’s labor force. The country had revolutionized its industrial sector to accommodate more women thus catapulting the country to the universal levels. The research finding indicated that the society had exhibited great change in attitude to permit married women to work formally in industries especially in urban centers. The communist government formulated policies that permitted women to work alongside their male counterparts in the society. Among such policies was that which earned the girl child the right to inherit land. In the traditional Chinese society, only the male child was eligible to inherit the family land and in the absence of one, the land could be given to a close male family member. Such retrogressive cultures disadvantaged the girl child who could equally benefit from the family land. By abolishing the culture in 1960, the women in the society became active in agriculture. Currently women in rural china are active agriculturists planting coffee and rice in their large plantations. The urban centers, women in China currently enjoy great benefits by their employers in either the private or public sector. The government has formulated and implemented effective policies that permit women equal employment opportunity in employment and a series of other auxiliary services and benefits. Among such benefits are the maternity leave, cost of childbirth among other health benefits. Such policies make the working condition accommodating a trend that has continued to attract female immigrant workers into the country. Furthermore, the government set a strategic minimum wage that ensures that all employers pay their employees effectively. Such ensure that the organizations do not exploit their female employees. Furthermore, the policies provide women with the ability to lead respectable social lives thus reducing disrespect among women in the society (Thomsen 71). While the communist government in the country has strived to alienate the living condition of women in china, the trend on crime against women in the society is still evident. Most of the crimes in the country are gender based with women and female children still proving to be the most vulnerable group. From the previously male chauvinistic society to the modern day liberal china, the nature of crimes against women has been concrete. Among such crimes are prostitution and trafficking. Human trafficking is a serious crime in the country with the government instituting strict policies to govern the prevalence of such crimes as human and drug trafficking. The trend in human trafficking exhibits a greater preference to women and girl children thus portraying a special weakness on the same gender (Kuah-Pearce 44). After assuming power in 1949, the communist government sought to eradicate such social ills as prostitution in the country. However, the increased activities by various civil societies revamped such activities by seeking to protect the interests and rights of every member of the society. Prostitution in the contemporary Chinese society has evolved to become an industry and employs of thousands of Chinese. The industry has a sizable output and contribution to the national economy. However, while the manifestation of the industry is a depiction of the liberal social structure in the country, the trade has also proven to be a menace to the effective governance of the country. The trade facilitates auxiliary crimes among other social crimes such as the increase in the prevalence of the HIV virus in the society, organized crimes and government corruption (Xinran 42). The country has had an expansive family planning program that sought to regulate the rising population in the country. While such policies appeared non-committal on any gender, they later proved to affect females more than they did men. Through increased civic education, the government increased the population’s awareness of the program and the need to regulate the population of the country. The government later formulated the one child policy in 1978, the law banned families to give birth to more than a single child. In the implementation of the stringent family planning policies, some states such as Punning city, the state enacted the iron fist campaign in which the government would expose couples to forceful sterilization in order to protect the population from bursting. The policy was among the most subjugating in the country. It exposed women to torture and inhumane treatment through forceful sterilization. The policy exhibited outright discrimination against women most of whom were captured and forcefully sterilized. Such states had policies that provided for the incarceration and forceful sterilization of members of the society who refused voluntary participation in the sterilization process. In brief, the people’s republic of china is currently one of the most liberal societies. The country has effective policies that exhibit respect for humanity and gender equality. Accompanied with appropriate wage bills and effective employment policies, the country is arguably safe haven for the female population. However, as history portrays, the process to attain such a social structure has been painful and endearing to the few feminist brains that sought to oppose the previously male dominated and chauvinistic society. Just as many other societies globally, China did not show regard to the girl child. From such features as arranged marriages and the unequal female representation in the country’s politics the female in the society were out rightly not favored. However, the society has evolved thus resulting in the contemporary Chinese society, which shows regards to gender equality. Works cited Du, Bois E. C. Woman Suffrage and Women's Rights. New York [u.a.: New York Univ. Press, 1998. Print. Johnson, Kay A. Women, the Family, and Peasant Revolution in China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983. Internet resource. Kuah-Pearce, Khun E. Chinese Women and the Cyberspace. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Univ. Press, 2008. Print. Terry, Geraldine. Women's Rights. London: Pluto Press, 2007. Print. Thomsen, Natasha. Women's Rights. New York: Facts On File, 2007. Internet resource. Walter, Lynn. Women's Rights: A Global View. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press, 2001. Print. Xinran, . The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices. New York: Anchor Books, 2008. Internet resource. Read More