Women in China

Women in china

Women in ChinaSarah Deininger

A Look at History: The Han DynastyThe early Chinese had no real commitment to subordination of women, however over time Confucian teachings were interpreted to demonstrate this.

Neoconfucian interpretations of male-dominance was founded in Confucian teachingsConfucian structure of societywomen at every level were to occupy a position lower than men subservience of women to men seen as natural and proper

It was during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.) that Confucianism was adopted as the government's state doctrine, with his thoughts becoming part of official education.

origins and justifications in the rules set by Confucius in his analects.

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The Patriarchal OrderTraditional GuidesRuler guides Subject Father guides SonHusband guides Wife

The Confucianism Orderwomen must obey their father, husband and sonsgives women no real authority

The first two relationships make sense because authority guides student, but when the relationship is between two equals it doesnt make sense anymore

Doesnt even have authority over her son3

Men v. Women in Ancient ChinaMen:Permitted to have premarital sex without scandalHave concubines if they could afford itRemarrying if one or more of their wives dies or just because they feel like itLaws created that favored male inheritance, divorce and familial interactions

Women: Servant to her HusbandHomemaker/mother, bearer of sonsConfined to the houseNever to remarry (received the death penalty if she did)Live up to husbands expectationsExcluded from education that allows them to rise to civil services or political positions

Double standards are evident4

The Tang Dynasty: One Step ForwardThe Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD) most progressive Dynasty for womenland distributionmutual divorce women could remarryaccess to education social restrictions were lifted

Empress Wu Zetian 624-705only female Empress in Chinas history from the Tang Dynastyher influence went beyond her rule, extending to modern day womens rights in China

Wu Zetian, she is said to have been the most influential leader and laid the pathway for the life of Chinese women today.The Tang dynasty (618-906 AD) was a time of relative freedom for women. They did not bind their feet nor lead submissive lives. It was a time in which a number of exceptional women contributed in the areas of culture and politics.

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Tang Dynasty Continued: Two Steps BackIn the late Tang Dynasty, emperors found beauty in the tiny feet of dancers

Gradually spread through the upper class during the Song Dynasty (960-1297)

During the Ming period (1368-1644) and the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) the custom of foot binding spread through the overwhelming majority of the Chinese population .

It was finally outlawed in1911

It was finally outlawed in the 1911 Revolution of Sun Yat-Sen

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Foot binding

Foot binding Foot binding - the toes were pushed under the foot. The practice was developed to limit girl's freedom, by crippling their feet in early childhood. Over several years of excruciating pain, the child's toes were pushed into her insole, until the bones twisted or broke, making a "new" foot shape which was small and difficult to walk on. It was done by tightly binding the foot with lengths of fabric around which a cloth shoe was sown on, to stop the child from taking it off.The small feet were considered beautiful, but the beauty was really in what the feet represented: the subjugation and enslavement of women. Women with bound feet were weak, inferior, dependent physically and financially, and unable to run far away if abused in other ways.Almost all Chinese girls had their feet crippled, and the custom continued for about a thousand years.

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FamilyIdeal family: family under one roof multiple generations oldest living male as the headsons with wivesgrandsons with their wives and children

this family structure has been the primary contributing factor to the subjugation of women throughout Chinas history

meaning there has been little or no spacepresent for an individuality.

Within this context women had no rights of their own besides the right to marry, and provide childbirth. looked upon as being mere property destined for relocation from their natal family to that of another as wives, concubines, or children for betrothal or laborers. Womens contributions to their original family were seen as being near to nothing in the way of enhancing their [familiy] state status, increasing their wealth, or providing for their care in old age.

The family was a residential and economic unit composed of males.forced to import women as brides, and it disposed of females born to it by marrying them off to other families( Baker, 24 ).

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Early FeminismChinas first experiences with feminism were not historical and cultural developments in which women consciously became aware inequality between men and womenit was the influence of a western concept onto an uneducated society

Raised concerns and problems, discussed on the next slide9

Problems for feminism Can western feminism find a place within a society where power structures have not been altered to the degree as they have been in the west?

Traditionally, in China the familydefinedones existence, leaving no room for individuality

Patriarchy is engrained in the structure of society and because the women did not come to dicover feminist ideas on their own, the strucute of the society was not altered or even questioned at this point10

Education Act

1907Tried to bring education to women

womens issues were bundled under quests for national strengthening and nation building

The education act was not about womens rights, it was done to make the nation stronger and the men who supported this act did not do it for womens rights11

Peoples Republic of Chinasince the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, in 1949, the conditions for women have improved in material, legal and social terms

In 1949 the Peoples Republic of China was established after the chinese civil war and conditions for women began to improve in material, legal and social terms12

Women protected in ConstitutionThe Chinese constitution states: "Women in the People's Republic of China enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, political, economic, cultural, social, and family life." not always practiced on the streets,homes and workplaces

In social terms, women are protected under the constitution (read)13

Marital Law- 1950put an end to traditional practices such as:arranged marriage, polygamy, the sale of daughters, childhood concubinage

Allowed for expanded experience for women encouraged to move into the labor force as equals to men.educational opportunities and vocational training now open to women

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1980s health care facilities, childcare centers, and other women related initiatives to provide for mothers and pregnant women in the work place

crimes of rape, incitation of prostitution, and female abduction became offences that could lead to capital punishment

Although this was a positive change, biology was used against women to say they were inferior or needed special treatment because of reporductive capabilites. Many employers chose not to hire women because of this.15

Problemslaws not easily incorporated into the lives of people and community

Marriage Law of 1950

Cultural Revolution

Cultural Context

feminist concerns came to be included under the class struggle traditionally male dominated power structures were never addressed

gender became neutral and women moved into more traditionally male positions and femininity was de-emphasizedirony in this supposed equality was that as women joined male labor in an effort for equality but men didnt share in the burdens of household work led to a double burden for the women who ventured into labor beyond the household

the power structure of patriarchy and patterns of the past and engrained in the culture and hinder gender equality

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Modern Day Chinese Women:Laws and Birth Controlwomen have gained equality in education, marriage, rights and freedoms, but in many villages and rural areas, these laws are ignored

In an effort to curb the ever growing population, the government devised a law in 1970 that restricted women to having one child

Domestic violence is still widely reported and trafficking in women and children, especially girls, is a regular occurrence.

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Modern Day:Effects of Child RegulationDue to Confucian tradition, boys have always been valued more than girls

Female newborns are often killed or abandoned. Abortion is encouraged. Since 1997, hundreds of "mobile abortion clinics" have roamed the countryside. Women are forced to submit to abortions or sterilization after a birth has occurred, by local authorities, anxious to adhere to the one-child family ideal.

Modern Day:Working Chinese WomenIn China today women workers predominate in the fields of agriculture, banking, textile work, and export manufacturing.

Many farms are worked by women. about 100 million women working in isolated conditions on large plots of land for about $1 a day. Suicide rates

China has highest rate of female suicide in the world , and is highest among rural women.

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Working contdSouth east China's urban centers contain many sweatshop operations

government presently bars migrants from securing legal residency,

child labor, long hours, low pay, no benefits, hazardous conditions

force the workers to work long hours under substandard conditions for very little pay Millions of these laborers are young migrant women who have fled the farms in order to survive

denied access to housing, education and health careBecause they work in the informal economy, these women are not covered by labor contracts and have no enforceable rights

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Conclusion:In regards to womens rights, China has made strides towards equality for men and women, however there is still more to be accomplished

1922: China:Foot bindingis abolished, after having handicapped women's feet since ca 1010.1920: China: The first female students are accepted in thePeking University, soon followed by universities all over China1947 right to vote with restrictions 1950--Marriage Law (women won freedom to marry and divorce for first time)1950--Land Reform (women won right to own property and land)1953--Women won right to vote7 million women employed, ten times than 1949, -- 1958with equal payRapid growth of women leaders in government -- 1966and model worker

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Referenceshttp://www.chinavoc.com/history/tang/women.htmhttp://www.helium.com/items/1328220-womens-rights-in-china?page=2http://chinamodern01.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/negotiating-gender-in-modern-china-western-feminism-and-tradition-in-china/