"Women Hold Up Half the Sky:"
Women's Issues in Modern China
Since the 1950's, women in China have been making progress towards attaining equality. Women who came of age during the age of Mao Tse Tung were taught that "women hold up half the sky," and many of these women are still committed to this philosophy today.
The
1995 UN
Fourth World Women's Conference in Huajro had a
tremendous impact on China, and of the approximately 42
organizations dedicated to women's issues, over ninety-five
percent of these organizations were founded since 1995.
These organizations are dedicated to fighting illiteracy,
poverty, and inequality in the workforce among women, and
have achieved an impressive record of success since
1995.
During June 1998, I was privileged to visit the People'
Republic of China as one of nine women delegates from the
National Women's Studies Association and People to People
International. My colleagues and I met with representatives
from the All China Women's Federation in Beijung, X'ian, and
Shanghai, with representatives from The Soong Ching Ling
Foundation, and with women faculty members from the China
Women's College, Institute of Women's Studies in Beijing,
and
Fudan
University in Shanghai.
The quicktime movie offers a visual survey of the
institutions and people with whom I met:
During these visits, I learned that although much has been done to address the needs of women in China, there is still much that remains to be done to bring women up to the standards expressed by Mao's famous dictum.
The following links contain a brief history of traditional views of women, some information on their status in twentieth-century China (much of it gained through personal interviews with women in the organizations mentioned above), and an account of the activities of some women's organizations in China (much of it taken from personal interviews).
Traditional Views of women's roles in society and in the home
A synopsis of traditional acitivities, with a discussion of the Han commentary written by Pan Chao. Contains a quicktime movie of a peasant's village, and several graphics.
Traditional activities as seen in the 20th century
Quicktime movie of women at work in a cloisonne factory in Beijing
Laws from 1955 through 1993
Women's Studies Programs in China
brief survey of Women's Studies in China
Women's Activism in China since 1995
a brief survey of activism in China since Huajro, including discussions of domestic violence, the floating people, illiteracy, and the one child policy.
In words of Cao LiLi of the the All China Women's Federation in Xian, "women's problems are global problems!" The concerns of Chinese women are the concerns of women worldwide.
For Further Exploration
For further information on women in China and on the plight of women across the globe, you may explore the following links:
United Nations
Woman Watch
Click on the "women of the world link" to get relevant
statistics on women in many countries across the globe.
contains an extensive set of links to resources on the
web.
For historical information on women, see:
Dr.
Vess's World Civilization Virtual Library
Click on link to women's resources. Also check our chapter
on women in this global issues
site.
Copyright 1998. All rights reserved. For further information, contact the author:
Dr. Deborah Vess
Director of Interdisciplinary Studies/Associate Professor of
History
CBX 048
Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA 31061-0490
e-mail: dvess@mail.gcsu.edu
