China is, and always has been, a patrilineal and patriarchal society. It is well known that Chinese society emphasis the importance of the family and the hierarchy within the family. Men's superiority and women's inferiority are deeply rooted in the 2,000-year-old Chinese culture and are reflected in many aspects of social life. Women generally have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men. Looking at the world today, many accomplishments in women's rights have occurred since the last century. In the 20th century, women in most nations have won the right to vote and have increased their educational and job opportunities.

lunes, 25 de octubre de 2010

Traditional Role of Women in China

History

Early in history, men dominated the Chinese society while women were deprived of all rights and were present mainly to serve men, they had to subordinate to their fathers, husbands, brothers and sons. Arranged marriages left women with virtually no voice in the society. Chinese women did not have rights and privileges. Women in Chinese society occupied a low and degraded status. They were customarily assigned the most despised and least important jobs and positions. The male child was looked upon as a "gift" from the gods, and treated accordingly. As for the female child, she had to endure multiple hardships, like the binding of her feet in order to cripple her from running and other customs.

Time Frame

Traditional Chinese society has been male-centered. Sons were preferred to daughters, and women were expected to be subordinate to fathers, husbands, and sons. Sketchy but consistent demographic evidence tends to show that female infants and children had higher death rates and less chance of surviving to adulthood than males. In extreme cases, female infants were the victims of infanticide, and daughters were sold, as chattels, to brothels or to wealthy families. Bound feet, which were customary even for peasant women, symbolized the painful constraints of the female role.
Throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, it was common for rich Chinese men to have a wife and various concubines. Women were treated like slaves and prostitutes before the 1900s. Before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, when Mao Tse-Tung and the communist party took power in 1949, it was lawful to have a wife and multiple concubines within Chinese marriage. He pushed for gender equality and created policies to eliminate the oppression of women and he also outlawed many  of the old Chinese laws and traditions that they viewed as not benefiting the state.


Traditional society
China's post-1949 leaders devoted energy and attention to changing some aspects of traditional society, such as rural land property and the content of education, while leaving other aspects, such as family structure, largely untouched. Husbands were now not allowed to abusing their wives, have concubines, or use prostitutes. Marriages could no longer be arranged, wives with unbound feet were encouraged, and divorce was made easier to obtain. Both sexes were forced to wear the same gender neutral padded clothing. These changes initially gave females an increasing sense of self-confidence as they were encouraged to join the work force, become a communist official, and pursue educational opportunities.

Kinship Roles

In ancient China women were mere daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law and they had to be obedient in three situations and posses four virtues. The three aspects of obedience were:  to obey their father before marriage, their husband during married life, and their sons in widowhood. The four virtues were: integrity, pleasant appearance, propriety in speech and be a skilled needlewoman. in the Chinese patriarchal society women had no right to voice their own opinion but submissively accept men’s decisions.

Status
In the past, Chinese women in China had a very low social status. Many cruel things were done to women in ancient china that are considered unfathomable in other countries. Women were only considered property and had to obey their brothers and fathers no matter what.   Fathers also despised their daughters to the point where instead of being named they were considered daughter number one and daughter number two, etc.   Once the woman was married instead of being property to her brother and father, she was now property to her husband and mother in law.

Marriage

Ever since ancient times, there has been a saying that the three most delightful moments in one's life come with success in the imperial examination, marriage and the birth of a son. Parents in China would customarily arrange marriages for their daughters. In feudal society, a marriage would be decided not by a young couple's love, but by their parents' desires. Only after a matchmaker's introduction and when parents considered the two family conditions were similar and could be matched, would the marriage procedures go forward. Conditions that should be taken into consideration included wealth and social status. If a boy's family was well-off or an official family, his parents would never permit him to marry a girl from a poor family. After the wedding, a Chinese woman in China would move into the household of her husband's family.  Before 1949, 95 percent of marriages in China were arranged .According to 1995 statistics, independent marriage of women under 40 years old had reached 80 percent. In families, women enjoy the equal right of economic allocation, the decisive right of household administration, equal guardianship of children, and reproduction right.

Education

The ancient Chinese did not think it was important to educate women. Women also did not practise ancestor worship as once they married their loyalties would lie with the families of their husbands. Ancestor worship was important to men as they remained loyal to one family. Women were not allowed to take exams and therefore could not enter into government service. Most girls did not go to school. Some girls who had scholars as fathers could learn from them, but female scholars were very rare.
In 1949 illiteracy among women in China was 90 percent, but by 1995 this had dropped to 24.05 percent. Now, there are women scientific and technological personnel numbering 10.2 million, accounting for 37.7 percent of the total; women graduate students number 53,517, and women undergraduate students number 1.18 million, accounting for 30.35 percent and 36.42 percent, respectively, of the total number of students at schools and colleges; the rate of enrolment of school-age girls has reached 98.63 percent; and women make up 45.63 percent of the members of various adult education courses.
Women’s work
Women's work was centred on the home. Tasks such as preparing food, cleaning and looking after children were the norm for the majority of women in ancient China. They were expected to have many children and most women felt the pressure to bear a son. It was common for women to take up manual labour in the home. Spinning, weaving and sewing were common occupations. Some peasant women worked in the fields with their husbands.
Changes
While there is still some persistent discrimination, from the 20th century until present, Chinese women have been treated more equally and fairly. Modern Chinese people regard their women with respect. Chinese women are now entitled to occupational and educational opportunities. The founding of the New China has liberated women from the unprivileged level to the master of their country, of the society, and of themselves. The 30 years' implementation of the Reform and Opening up policy has remarkably pushed forward the process of gender equality. Women's status has been improved and they have been able to better reach their full potential.

 

 

 

Improvements

In the past half-century, the cause of women's human rights in China has been developing gradually and has achieved remarkable results. Health, education, employment and extent of political participation are widely recognized as the four main indicators of women's development in China. Gender equality has increased tremendously. Today, Chinese women in China are not considered subordinate to men. They can choose their own husbands, get a divorce and attend college. In the past 50 years, the Chinese government has taken every legal, executive and educational measure to eliminate prejudices against women, and promoted the development and improvement of women's rights. In 1995, the government stated that the realization of the equality of men and women is a basic national policy to promote social development in China.
Political rights
In the field of political rights, the Law of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women for the first time legislated on the proportion of women to participate in government and political affairs, "Women enjoy equal rights of electing and being elected with men. There should be a certain number of women representatives in national and local people's congresses, and the proportion of women representatives should be increased gradually." This regulation provides a legal guarantee for women's political rights.

Employment

According to statistics, China had 2.13 million women workers in the 1950s, accounting for 11.68 percent of the total; in 1995 there were 56 million women workers in China, accounting for 38 percent of the total; in 1997 there were 57.45 million women workers, accounting for 38.7 percent of the total. At present, women account for 44 percent of the total number of employees in China, higher than the average world standard of 34.5 percent. Although many women workers were laid off during the adjustment of the industrial structure and the transformation of the enterprise system recently, the general rate of employment of women is still to increase.

Advocacy

Of course, it is a long and tedious task to realize the complete equality of the sexes in this country, because China is a country with a long history of feudal backwardness and the people are influenced by many old-fashioned concepts. At present, some unhealthy tendencies of prejudice against women, violation of women's rights and interests-including abducting, selling and kidnapping women prostitution and the patronage of prostitutes, and the violation of the rights and interests of women workers-still exist. But the Chinese government is adopting various measures and Chinese women are making positive efforts to eliminate these phenomena in an attempt to promote the development of women's human rights from legal equality to overall equality in fact.

44 comentarios:

  1. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

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  2. It amanzing how society has not changed to much. Women there still fighting for her right, most of the women they're still living that life of low status, believing that are not able to have the same right as men.
    Otherwise I think that they born in a strict society, for her this kind of life is normal. There are accustomed to this. Ad maybe there ot going to change her stylife.
    Clau Briones.

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  3. I know all the cultures are differents, but the only thing I disagree is the arrange of marriage. Some people say "love comes after the wedding" For me that's to get used to the other person. What happens with the freedom!! Felipe =)

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  4. It's incredible how women are treated in this country. When a girl was born, they killed her, because everyone wanted to have a boy, for that there more men than women. Hernán Olivares

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  5. It's incredible how Chineese women were treated there! They were slaves, I can't find another word. And what happens with respect to mother who gave you life??? I really can't understand disrespectful chineese men's way of thinking. Irina

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  6. I knew the treatment of chinese women and I am very happy now because I know that they are treated well. The chinese people in general are very discriminated specially women, but this is changing and that is the important thing! Manuel

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  7. I think each person can have a girl or boy if they want and I find unfair that the government decide for the parents. Fortunately, it has been changing.


    Noelia Avendaño.
    Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ*•.¸●

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  8. According to the text chinese marriage were arranged...And what about their own way of thinking?.I mean,if I fall in love with somebody that doesn't have enough money,I would'nt be with him because of my parents' tought? That's really unfair! I do not agree with it!.but I´m glad that this has been changing through the years.
    Kathy Herrera.

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  9. Political rights are ok for me.
    I like that women have legal representation.For me this mean that women are important in this country.

    Posted by Daniela.

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  10. Asian cultures are far more different from what we are used to. It is clear that is really unfair for Chinese woman to experience all that but, I do not blame men. They have an extremely different way of thinking and if you are born at any place, you are taught what is done there. As China is really old, you can't pretend to change their culture in just some years especially when they have been treating women like that for centuries. Another fact is that women are raised like so even there are women trying to fight their rights, there are some that are used to it and are fine with it. Maybe for us is incredible how they are treated but for them maybe not. I do think women deserve the same rights as men and this is happening, but we can not avoid the difference in culture.

    Consuelo Jorratt M.

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  11. After many years, women in China can participate in a "service" as basic as education. Maybe not a big deal for us, but it must have cost a lot of work to get to that point.
    Loretto Torres.

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  12. IN THE LAST TIME CHINA HAS HAD A VERY FAST EVOLUTION IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT TOPICS ALTHOUGH HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE BEEN CONSTANTLY VIOLATED BY THE AUTHORITIES IN THE CASE OF WOMEN THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS IN ECONOMY AND THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION WOMEN HAVE TAKEN A ROLE MORE IMPORTANT EVERYTIME INSIDE A SOCIETY FULL OF CHAUVINISM TOWARD WOMEN

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  13. the evolution of women in china in the last decade has been amazing although there are a lots of obstacles they are an essentil factor in economy and production now they've got more freedom than before in a very chauvinist society
    Juan Jose Valenzuela

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  14. It’s kind of funny in certain way how women were treated in three different ways; obedience to her father, to her husband and then to her son? Wow, and when does freedom comes?
    Even though, today you can see many changes in China that tells you that women now is more considered than many years ago, big and good changes that benefits women, but I think that the pain for the elder women, that were part of that society, will never be erased.
    Cam.Martínez ღ

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  15. Chinese society is one of the oldes in the planet and has a lot of ideologies which it's impossible to change but in the last time women have been getting more and more ground in a lot of areas as trade and economy which are the base of any political system
    Anyela Salgado

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  16. I think women will be free as the time goes by. I feel happy, knowing that many countries are changing their way of thinking.


    Juan Carlos Arrepol

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  17. For me this is the country of NO freedom! Women have no freedom and even men do not have.

    This country seem to show a big country to the world... they they are nothing! Just unfair for every one and nuclear bombs!

    Cristian Castro.-

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  18. I think that the job according to equality of rights between both genders in this country is almost done the number of women that work in this country is amazing, they just need a few years to get to a complet equality according to my point of view

    Javier

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  19. I like this culture and rights of women here too..
    jajajja Cristian Castro critique everything!! xD like me :P (some countries)

    This country has many years for create a good manage of their society and so they have to carry in order the equality of rights between men and women!

    Ariel Correa "The best".

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  20. we know very well that china is a country with a long history and a huge culture ,maybe that reason is thanks to an enormous respect that they have themselves about their culture,but this problem is going to continue because is a country with ancient traditions and the knowledge happens generation by generation and this way ,and so inappropriately adopting a more diminished in Chinese women it will continue,however the article said that women have been obtained more space in their society towards gender equality,according to politics relatives society and work, a very good example about that is it already accounts for 44 percent of the employed population in China.
    Dominique G.

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  21. The information in this blog is really interesting and over than that, unexpected for me. I did not know that infants women are not loved like boys, when they born. Also I didn't know that women rights are not respected at all. Even it was new for me the fact that in some cases women are sold ... SOLD! thats it is an awful action for me because I think that nobody is owner of anyone else, that is a "right" which a lot people believe is yours...that's not ok I think.

    - Carla Aguirre S.-

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  22. The Chinese culture is really interesting, because I have studied the Japan women's life, and those cultures are very similar in education all of them was socially discriminate.

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  23. I liked the information of this blog because I didn`t know that women were treated as prostitutes and slaves...
    But now is different =D
    I happy because the cultures have changed...
    Lily Vega.-

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  24. thanks to share the information about the chinese women lifes, i really like it and i love to study about the people of china, hope that you will keep it up and will share more information about the chinese culture and more
    Earn Money

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  25. This post describe the real life of Chinese women and also helps others to understand Chinese women. I really like this post keep sharing and also encourage Chinese women and their culture. Thanks for this post :)

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  26. Hi, Thanks for sharing this interesting information of Chinese women´s life. women in culture.

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  27. I just want to say this. why do you use the picture of Japan? this website is talking about China. make sure you use the accurate picture so that people won't get confuse.

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  28. some one write about the culture of China but they never know a real China. They may need come to visit and see by their eyes and then they can make some sense

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