From DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.orgTue Sep 12 08:27:58 1995
Date: Sat, 09 Sep 1995 08:28:00 +0100
From: Debra Guzman <DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.org>
Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
To: beijing95-l@netcom.com, beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
Subject: WCW: Press Release: COC 4/9
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## Original in: /HRNET/WOMEN
## author : apcwomen@wcw.apc.org
## date : 04.09.95
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Speech made by Mme. Huang Qizao, Vice Chairperson of the COC
and Vice President of the All-China Women's Federation on
the Press Meeting; Sponsored by the China NGO Forum
Committee of COC
September 4, 1995
Ladies, gentlemen, and friends,
Good afternoon. I am very glad to take this opportunity to
brief you on the Chinese women's status. I would like to
sum it up into the following five aspects;
I. Review of the Historic Liberation of Chinese Women
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the
country had been ruled for several millennia by a feudal
patriarchal system and for more than a century by a
semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Chinese women living
under such a social system struggled at the bottom of the
society. They possessed no political rights and were
economically dependent. They were robbed of property and
inheritance rights. Women were forced to obey their fathers
before marriage, their husbands after marriage and their
sons if they became widowed. They had no personal dignity.
They enjoyed no freedom in marriage and were subjected to
physical and mental torture. The overwhelming majority of
women were forced to find their feet from childhood. For
centries, "w omen with bound feet" was a synonym for the
female gender in China. Chinese women waged a dauntless
struggle for emancipation, freedom and equality. Ever since
its founding, the Chinese Communist Party has set
emancipation of women and equality between th
The founding of the People's Republic of China ended the
thousands of years of feudal oppression and enslavement of
women and the country's history of being trampled and
bullied by foreign aggressors. And the role and status of
women are vividly describe d as the "hold up the half sky."
II. Major achievements in Implementing the Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies.
Since the Nairobi Strategies were adopted a decade ago,
rapid economic development has taken place in China
resulting from its reform and opening efforts. The social
and political enviroment of China is stable and people enjoy
a happy life. Women's move ment also has a rapid
development.
a) The remarkable progress made by Chinese women in
economic development in the past ten years has the following
features:
First, the number of employed women has grown steadily.
Urban working women numbered 45 million in 1985 and that
figure grew by 25 percent to 56.4 million in 1994. Rural
industry have employed about 40 million rural women. They
now make up 40 percent o f workers in township businesses.
Second, the economic fields for women to participate in are
widening and the structure tends to become more rational.
For instance in rural areas, women not only participate in
crop production, but also in livestock breeding,
embroidering, weaving, sewin g, processing, commerce,
transportation and general development of the courtyard
economy. Women have contributed to the development of
industry, commerce, banking, insurance, post and
telecommunications, education, public health, science, and
technology, etc.
Third, the level of women in economic development is
increasing. The number of women serving as government
economic officials as well as those working as entrepreneurs
has steadily increased. The Chinese Women Entrepreneures
Association now has more tha n 3,000 members.
Fourth, women, like men, are becoming the owners of natural
resources, including land. They have the legal right to
contract for land management and development. Rural women
in two-thirds of the country's provinces can obtain bank
loans on preferential interest rates by following simple
procedures. Over the past five years, various levels of
agricultrual banks across the country have provided rural
women with a total of 7 billion yuan ($843 million) in
loans.
Fifth, women in poor areas and handicapped women are
receiving technology, information, funds and materials
support and services so as to help get themselves out of
poverty. Poverty alleviation and welfare projects have also
been established.
Ladies, and gentlemen, I would also like to brief you on the
"two leanings and two competitions" campaign carried out
across the country by the All-China Women'[s Federation
together with 12 government departments. This emulation
drive carried out over t he past six years aims to encourage
rural women to acquire more knowledge, technical skills, and
vie for greater achievements and contributions. The number
of women participating in these activities totals 120
million. 20.03 million women ahve become li terate and 96
million women received training on various kinds of
practical skills. 510,000 rural women were awarded the
titles of technicians. Women's extensive participation in
the economy has not only increased their person incomes but
also raised th eir status within the family. According to
the sample survey carried out by the Chinese Research
Institute on Women, the ration of income by men and women in
rural areas is 100:82, while the ration is 100:77 in urban
areas.
b) Remarkable progress made by Chinese women in social
development
Chinese women's education level has generally improved in
the decade since the implementation of the Nairobi
Strategies. By the end of 1992, school attendance for
7-to-11-year-old girls had risen to 96.2 percent from less
than 20 percent before 1949. Th e proportion of young women
attending classes now numbers 43.1 percent in middle
schools, 33.7 percnet in colleges and 24.8 percent in
postgraduate institutions. There are 1,679 women's
secondary vocational schools and three women's vocational
colleges. More than 13 million women are enrolled in
institutions of higher learning. Over a period of 45 years
since the founding of the People's Republic of China, more
than 110 million illiterate women have learned to read,
reducing female illiteracy from 90 p ercent in 1949 to 32
percent in 1993.
The Chinese Government has attached great importance to
training women scientists and technicians. In 1993, China
had more than 8 million women scientists and technicians,
accounting for 35 percent of the total. The Chinese Academy
of Sciences has selec ted 29 women as academicians, and
another 204 women were named State-level experts.
In the aspect of public health care, China has 2.27 million
women medical workers specializing in maternity and child
care, accounting for 55 percent of all those in the medical
professions. To date, 17 Chinese women have won the
Nightingale Medal, the w orld's top honor for nurses. An
urban and rural health network for women and children has
been established. From 1982 to 1992, the number of
maternity anbd children's health care centers grew from 272
to 346, or an increase of 27.2 percent. Chinese wome n's
average life expectancy has risen from 36 years in 1949 to
the present 72 years.
Women made up more than 50 percent of Chinese prize winners
in international ballet, piano, violin and vocal music
competitions.
At the 25th Olympic Games held in 1992, Chinese women
athletes captured 12 gold medals, taking three quarters of
the folds for China.
c) China's effective efforts to guarantee women's equal
legal status and equal right to participate in State affairs
First, stronger laws protect the rights and interests of
women. What is especially deserved to be mentioned is the
Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding the
Rights and Interests of Women adopted by the NPC on April 3,
1992, which futher i mprove the legal system for the
protection of Chinese women. In 1994, China promulgated the
Labor Law and the Law on Maternal and Infant Health Care,
which all include specific provisions on protection of
women's rights and interests.
Second, national institutions also have been established to
protect women's rights. A special department was set up
under the Civil Judicial Committee of the National People's
Congress (NPC) in 1989 especially to deal with maters
concerning women and Chi ldren.
In 1990, the State Council set up a women and children's
affairs committee, composed of heads from 16 ministries and
commissions under the State Council and four
non-governmental organizations. Now there are such
committees in all governments at provinci al levles and in
some numicipal and county governments.
Third, more promotion is being conducted for women's
participation in government work. Plans for selecting women
officials have been made at State and provincial levels.
More women are holding senior positions. Women make up 21
percent of the represent atives of the NPC. The number of
women ministers and vice-ministers under the State Council
has increased from 11 in 1985 to 18 today. In local
governments, there are 18 governors and deputy governors
now, while there were only 9 in 1985, or increased f rom 5%
to 12.26%. To date, all counties and 50 percent of towns in
16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have
women holding government positions.
III. A strong Force of Non-Governmental Organizations
Chinese women's non-governmental organizations have a long
history. In April 1949, women from all walks of life united
to establish the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) to
represent and protect women's rights and promote equality
between men and women.
Now the ACWF has 5,8000 group members, 65,000 women's
federations ar provincial, municipal, county and town levels
and 810,000 women's representative committees at the village
level, makeing up a network with 1.1 million volunteers.
Women's federations at all levels have played a significant
role in uniting women in society, encouraging women's
self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance and
self-improvement, promoting women's equality with men and
protecting women's rights. For exa mple, the ACWF has
proposed stipulating the Law of the People's Republic of
China on Safeguarding the Rights and Interests of Women and
the Programme for the Development of Chinese
Women(1995-2000).
IV. Support from Society and Mass Media
The mass media in China pays great attention to spreading
positive stories about women and improving people's
knowledge about women's rights and roles. Various kinds of
women's organizations have their own women's magazines and
women's federations alone at all levels have 47 magazines or
newspapers. The volume of distribution amounts to more than
10 million. There are special columns in some newspapers as
well as special radio and TV programmes about women. Dozens
of research institutes on women's matt ers also have been
established.
Ladies and gentlement, as you all know, China is a
developing country. Barriers still exist to achieving
equality in women's participation in political affairs,
employment, education and marriage. Therefore, there is
still a long way for Chinese women to go on women's
emancipation and development. The recent promulgation of
Programme for the Development of Chinese Women (1995-2000)
is an encourageing significant event for Chinese Women.
When Mme. Mongella got this news, she said with pleasure
that "Th e Chinese Government has started its follow-up work
of the Fourth World Conference on Women."
Ladies, and gentlemen, I sincerely wish that everyone
present here will bring seeds of friendship among us to all
over the world. And let main theme of equality, development
and peace be echoed in every corner of the world.