From or@iohk.comTue Aug 29 10:32:35 1995 Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 01:14:44 +0800 From: October Review Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing95-l@netcom.com, beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: An Alternative view of the status of women in China today August 28, 1995. Dear friends, Please find below an article in the forthcoming issue of October Review. If you have problem receiving the article or would like to receive future articles, please feel free to contact us. With best regards, October Review, a bimonthly published in Hong Kong mail address: G.P.O.Box 10144, Hong Kong e-mail address: or@iohk.com An Alternative view of the status of women in China today Zhang Kai The Chinese government is hosting the Fourth World Conference on Women in September this year. In February 1994, it published the "Country report on the People's Republic of China's implementation of the Nairobi Strategy to enhance women's status"; in June 1994, it published a White Paper on "The Situation of Women in China". Both documents talk of the positive achievements women in China have gained, demonstrating the achievements of the ruling Communist Party. In fact, the status of women had improved before the CCP came into power in 1949. A century ago, outcries against feudal oppression such as foot-binding or deprivation of education for women had begun. Notably, during the Boxers' Uprising in late 19th century, a whole series of equality rights for men and women were proposed. After the 1911 revolution, the women's movement focused on women's participation in politics and the right to education and individual freedoms. During the resistance war against Japanese invasion and subsequently the civil war, women also fought along with the men in the revolutionary process national and social liberation. Hence, in 1949, when "New China" was formed, the law stipulated that women would enjoy the same rights as men in all aspects of life -- political, economic, cultural, educational and social aspects. After 1949, women also participated actively in all aspects of social life. What women in China have gained is the fruit of a whole century of struggle. Yet when we look at the status of women in China today, the rights and safeguards for women that exist in the law do not always correspond to the reality. Women have still to fight hard to further their rights and improve their status. The two official documents on women in China have either evaded the negative aspects of the situation, or simply glossed over them. This article therefore will look at some of the negative side of things in order to provide a different perspective. POLITICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS Similar to men who are engaged in political activities fighting for democracy and human rights, many women have been detained or jailed simply because they tried to exercise their basic rights of speech and association. The latest examples are the arrests of Gao Yu, a woman journalist, and Tong Yi, secretary to the famous dissident Wei Jingsheng. Many wives and mothers of jailed dissidents have also been harassed or put under house arrest because of their activities to seek the release of their husbands or sons. Amnesty International recently reported that since 1992, around 200 women have been arrested for participating in demonstrations for Tibet independence. The Tiananmen crackdown of 1989 is one obvious example, and the Chinese government's abuse of human rights needs no further illustration. RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT Since the Reform started in 1978, one key problem that women face has been the question of unemployment. According to the Labour Bureau in China, over 70% of the 20 million "redundant" workers in state or collective enterprises are women. According to the Shenzhen Labour Bureau, 80% of the unemployed above the age of 24 are women. Sit Chaojun, the Deputy President of the National Labour Federation, commented that "according to many of our sample surveys, women constitute about 60% of those dismissed in recent years due to redundancy; they not only suffer from psychological pressure but also find it very difficult to keep a living." The White Paper made no mention of the large-scale unemployment problem women find themselves in. It stressed that women enjoy the same right to a job as men, and only said in passing that "women have some difficulty finding a job because some enterprises are reluctant to recruit women." RIGHTS OF WOMEN WORKERS The rights of women workers have often been abused, especially in joint-venture enterprises. Wang Jun, Deputy Head of the Women workers' Section of the National Labour Federation, pointed out that surveys indicated serious abuses of the legal rights of women workers in foreign-owned enterprises: no safeguard for labour rights; violations of rights of the person; low remuneration; stipulations in the Ordinance to Protect Women Workers not implemented; humiliation and sexual harassment. And from a survey of joint-venture enterprises in Shanghai in the spring of 1995, it was found out that over half the enterprises did not strictly adhere to the 44-hour working week, that overtime work was the usual practice, and that some enterprises asked for as much as 137 hours of overtime work in a month. RIGHT TO FORM FREE TRADE UNIONS There are 56 million women workers in state enterprises, with another 50 million in rural industries. It is important that workers have the right to form free trade unions to protect themselves. The official trade unions toe the lines of government policies and often cannot represent the interest or will of the workers. The Women's Federation, though called a "mass organization", is also under the leadership of the Party. Incidences of Chinese workers following the example of the Polish workers in organizing independent trade unions have all resulted in repression. RIGHTS OF THE PERSON The White Paper says that Chinese women enjoy the right to life and health as men do, and the law safeguards women's reproductive rights. In actuality, the one-child policy being sternly carried out at all levels, the suffering of a lot of women and the abuse or even killing of girls are facts of life many people are familiar with. This has added on to the discrimination that women suffer. At the same time, the male-female ratio is being upset. Just at the age group of 30-44, there are 7.4 million unmarried men while there are only 0.5 million unmarried women. The phenomenon will worsen in the coming years. According to a scholar from the Shanghai Social Sciences Academy, cases of discrimination and abuse of women have increased, and wife battering and domestic violence have risen. RIGHT TO EDUCATION According to an international conference on Women and Education, at the end of 1992, 2.1 million girls were not in school. Women university graduates constituted only about 1.1% of all women. Most working women have received only primary school education. The White Paper also reports of a 32% illiteracy rate among women. RIGHT TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Although the White Paper claims that women are participating in general social affairs and quotes the figures of women in the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, it is generally known that these two bodies are only rubber stamps to the CCP policies. As for the Communist Party that holds real power, there are over 7 million women party members, comprising 14% of the total membership; but in the Political Bureau, not one of the 20 bureau members and the 2 alternate members is a woman. This might not be a bad thing for the women's movement, because having women in top power positions does not mean any guarantee for women's interests, since those women would be representing not the interests of the majority of women, but of the interests of a minority elite. ANTAGONIZING WOMEN FROM AROUND THE WORLD While China hopes to gain credibility for hosting the UN Conference on Women, it has fears for the parallel NGO Forum. Such acts as moving the site of the Forum to the suburban Huairou and denying visas to women from many parts of the world have put the Chinese government in antagonism to a lot of women and movements in the world. Such bureaucratic measures are an extension of the CCP's own domestic repression of women's rights. The furthering of the cause of women will depend on women fighting for their rights with their own strength. The World Conference and the NGO Forum on Women provide an opportunity for women from different parts of the world to come together for exchange and networking, and will help advance the cause of women both in China and in the world. 30 July 1995