Since the revolution of 1949 in China, the communist regime has outlawed the most extreme forms of female subordination, including the sale of women and the practice of arranging marriages. The government has also attempted to raise the status of Chinese women through various means: it has made it possible for women to enter the work force as well as the political arena, and has also made education more accessible to them. Official statistics show that, since 1949, the status of women has improved significantly. The official Chinese press agency reports that in 1990, for example, 690,000 young women were studying in China's colleges and universities, representing 33.7 per cent of the total enrolment (Xinhua 3 Oct. 1992). In 1992, more than eight million of China's scientists and technicians were women (Ibid.). Such official figures present a view that women's liberation in China has been successfully carried out and that women indeed "hold up half the sky," as Chairman Mao promised they would.To get more news about traditional chinese women, you can visit shine news official website.
The status of women in China today is, however, much more questionable than the official emphasis on gender equality suggests. In 1991, women were still underrepresented in parliament, holding only 21 per cent of the seats (UNDP 1993, 150). Although the regime has consistently articulated the ideal of gender equality and has enacted a series of laws to protect women's rights, the lack of an independent judiciary, the persistence of traditional views on the position of women, the government's family planning policies and the economic reform programme are obstacles to the effective application of these laws. As well, violence against women is still a widespread problem in China (Potter 11 May 1993). It should, however, be noted that the status of women does differ profoundly between the urban and rural areas. The government's one-child policy, female infanticide, the abduction and sale of women, and the practise of arranging marriages are all major areas of concern, especially in rural areas.
Information on violence against women in China is difficult to obtain because the government does not publish statistics. Independent organizations are not permitted to monitor the human rights situation in China. Hence, most of the information is to be found in Chinese and foreign press reports, as well as academic research. Government control over internal media, although changing somewhat as a result of the new economic climate, is still tight enough for observers to assume that on sensitive social and political matters, especially, Chinese press organs will only publish material that meets the approval of the government
The 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China states, in Article 33, that "all citizens of the People's Republic of China are equal before the law" (Tao-Tai Hsia et al. 1992, 43). Specific reference to the status of women is made in Article 48:
Women in the People's Republic of China enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, political, economic, cultural and social, including family life. The state protects the rights and interests of women, applies the principle of equal pay for equal work for men and women alike and trains and selects cadres from among women (Ibid., 45).
Parents have the duty to rear and educate their minor children, and children who have come of age have the duty to support and assist their parents.
Violation of the freedom of marriage is prohibited. Maltreatment of old people, women and children is prohibited (Ibid., 46).
Family planning is explicitly treated in Article 25: "The state promotes family planning so that population growth may fit the plans for economic and social development" (Ibid., 42).
The constitutional protection of women's rights, however, should be viewed in light of the important restrictions on the individual rights and freedoms of all Chinese citizens. These are articulated in Article 51:
The exercise by citizens of the People's Republic of China of their freedoms and rights may not infringe upon the interests of the state, of society and of the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens (Ibid., 46).
Thus, the rights provided for in the Constitution are relative. According to a lawyer and legal scholar, "the extent to which individual rights may be enjoyed rests on the perceived social utility of civil and political rights" (Stetson 19 Jan. 1991, 15). The reference to the so-called four cardinal principles in the preamble of the Constitution restricts the rights in the 1982 Constitution even further (Ibid., 11; Human Rights Quarterly 1991, 188). The preamble of the Constitution states that every citizen is obliged to follow the leadership of the Communist Party; to follow the guidance of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong thought; to adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship; and to follow the socialist road
In addition to the protection promised to women under the Constitution, the following laws are fundamental to the assessment of the legal status of women in China: the Marriage Law (1980), the Law of Succession (1985) and the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (1992). (Section 2.3 below deals with this last law.) Additional support for strengthening the position of women came from the 1986 General Principles of Civil Law which confirm "greater economic latitude for individuals, especially women" (Ocko 1991, 338).
As early as 1950, the communist government of China introduced a marriage law which outlawed such traditional practises as marriage by purchase. When the Marriage Law was revised in 1980, it also strengthened women's rights by restructuring the marital property regime. Specifically, the law gave special consideration to the rights and interests of the wife in cases of disputed divorce settlements (Ocko 1991, 324). As a result of higher incomes produced by the successful economic reform programme, the government of China had to deal with an increase in the number of property-related divorce disputes (Ibid., 325). The Law of Succession of 1985 guarantees the inheritance rights of daughters and widows and, in particular, "confirm[s] the widow's right to take property away with her into a new marriage"
Since the revolution of 1949 in China, the communist regime has outlawed the most extreme forms of female subordination, including the sale of women and the practice of arranging marriages. The government has also attempted to raise the status of Chinese women through various means: it has made it possible for women to enter the work force as well as the political arena, and has also made education more accessible to them. Official statistics show that, since 1949, the status of women has improved significantly. The official Chinese press agency reports that in 1990, for example, 690,000 young women were studying in China's colleges and universities, representing 33.7 per cent of the total enrolment (Xinhua 3 Oct. 1992). In 1992, more than eight million of China's scientists and technicians were women (Ibid.). Such official figures present a view that women's liberation in China has been successfully carried out and that women indeed "hold up half the sky," as Chairman Mao promised they would.To get more news about traditional chinese women, you can visit shine news official website.
The status of women in China today is, however, much more questionable than the official emphasis on gender equality suggests. In 1991, women were still underrepresented in parliament, holding only 21 per cent of the seats (UNDP 1993, 150). Although the regime has consistently articulated the ideal of gender equality and has enacted a series of laws to protect women's rights, the lack of an independent judiciary, the persistence of traditional views on the position of women, the government's family planning policies and the economic reform programme are obstacles to the effective application of these laws. As well, violence against women is still a widespread problem in China (Potter 11 May 1993). It should, however, be noted that the status of women does differ profoundly between the urban and rural areas. The government's one-child policy, female infanticide, the abduction and sale of women, and the practise of arranging marriages are all major areas of concern, especially in rural areas.
Information on violence against women in China is difficult to obtain because the government does not publish statistics. Independent organizations are not permitted to monitor the human rights situation in China. Hence, most of the information is to be found in Chinese and foreign press reports, as well as academic research. Government control over internal media, although changing somewhat as a result of the new economic climate, is still tight enough for observers to assume that on sensitive social and political matters, especially, Chinese press organs will only publish material that meets the approval of the government
The 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China states, in Article 33, that "all citizens of the People's Republic of China are equal before the law" (Tao-Tai Hsia et al. 1992, 43). Specific reference to the status of women is made in Article 48:
Women in the People's Republic of China enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, political, economic, cultural and social, including family life. The state protects the rights and interests of women, applies the principle of equal pay for equal work for men and women alike and trains and selects cadres from among women (Ibid., 45).
Parents have the duty to rear and educate their minor children, and children who have come of age have the duty to support and assist their parents.
Violation of the freedom of marriage is prohibited. Maltreatment of old people, women and children is prohibited (Ibid., 46).
Family planning is explicitly treated in Article 25: "The state promotes family planning so that population growth may fit the plans for economic and social development" (Ibid., 42).
The constitutional protection of women's rights, however, should be viewed in light of the important restrictions on the individual rights and freedoms of all Chinese citizens. These are articulated in Article 51:
The exercise by citizens of the People's Republic of China of their freedoms and rights may not infringe upon the interests of the state, of society and of the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens (Ibid., 46).
Thus, the rights provided for in the Constitution are relative. According to a lawyer and legal scholar, "the extent to which individual rights may be enjoyed rests on the perceived social utility of civil and political rights" (Stetson 19 Jan. 1991, 15). The reference to the so-called four cardinal principles in the preamble of the Constitution restricts the rights in the 1982 Constitution even further (Ibid., 11; Human Rights Quarterly 1991, 188). The preamble of the Constitution states that every citizen is obliged to follow the leadership of the Communist Party; to follow the guidance of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong thought; to adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship; and to follow the socialist road
In addition to the protection promised to women under the Constitution, the following laws are fundamental to the assessment of the legal status of women in China: the Marriage Law (1980), the Law of Succession (1985) and the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (1992). (Section 2.3 below deals with this last law.) Additional support for strengthening the position of women came from the 1986 General Principles of Civil Law which confirm "greater economic latitude for individuals, especially women" (Ocko 1991, 338).
As early as 1950, the communist government of China introduced a marriage law which outlawed such traditional practises as marriage by purchase. When the Marriage Law was revised in 1980, it also strengthened women's rights by restructuring the marital property regime. Specifically, the law gave special consideration to the rights and interests of the wife in cases of disputed divorce settlements (Ocko 1991, 324). As a result of higher incomes produced by the successful economic reform programme, the government of China had to deal with an increase in the number of property-related divorce disputes (Ibid., 325). The Law of Succession of 1985 guarantees the inheritance rights of daughters and widows and, in particular, "confirm[s] the widow's right to take property away with her into a new marriage"