A recent survey conducted by China Youth Daily showed
that 64.5 percent of those surveyed think that men and women are
now much closer to true equality than ten years ago. A total of 850
people took part in the survey conducted on China Central
Television's ePanel service.
According to the survey, 21.9 percent of the participants think
that gender equality in China is more evident than in other
countries; 31.5 percent think it's not as evident; and 46.6 percent
responded "Hard to Tell."
The Economist, a leading British publication, reported
that a survey on the international gender equality situation
conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2005 showed that China is
at the "medium" mark. China was considered to be even more "gender
equal" than developed countries like Japan and Italy with respect
to economic status, political rights, health care, and
education.
According to Gu
Xiulian, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress (NPC) and president of the All-China Women's
Federation, women's development in China has seen great
progress since 1995 when the Fourth World Conference on Women was
held in Beijing.
The white paper "Gender Equality and Women's Development in
China" issued by the State Council on August 24 traces this
development. The white paper gives an account of the equal rights
that women share with men, and women's development in nine specific
areas including politics, economy, culture, status in society, and
family life.
What is gender equality?
Although "gender equality" has become a mainstream topic of
discussion, different people have different ideas about what the
term actually means and to what extent men and women are to be
considered equal.
An extreme example of society striving for equality could be the
"standing WC" for women that opened in Xi'an on July 28. Although
the restroom designer's motive was to make using the toilet more
convenient for women who cannot move about freely or easily, this
new WC could be said to symbolize what gender equality means to the
ordinary person.
According to China Youth Daily survey, 26.5 percent of
the participants tended to believe that "gender equality" means
that women can do what men can, and men should also do what women
can.
Another expression, "gender freedom", seems to be debunking
traditional views of what women should like or how they ought to
behave. Milking it for all it's worth, the tomboy image seems to
have gained popularity with some help from pop culture including
My Sassy Girl, a Korean film, and Super Girl, a recently
concluded TV talent quest where a boyish-looking girl took the top
prize.
The term "gender freedom" is an attempt at denying or minimizing
gender differences.
But some survey participants held that to place too much
emphasis on gender equality or freedom is not really equality at
all. It is merely a case of women trying to be men when they are,
in fact, different.
Others agreed with the idea of encouraging women to return to
their "traditional" roles.
According to a survey of 2,750 working women in Urumqi, capital
city of Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, about 80 percent wanted to be
housewives.
The Beijing +10 Declaration issued on August 31 points out that
equality between women and men means equality in their integral
rights and worth as human beings. About 89.2 percent of respondents
in the China Youth Daily survey believe that equality
between women and men also means equality in terms of rights,
opportunities and responsibilities.
Gender inequality: from politics to family
life
People might not agree with one another on what equality is. But
few would disagree on what constitutes inequality.
According to the China Youth Daily survey, 77.3 percent
believe the problem that needs immediate attention is the
discrimination women face in the job market. Economic equality is
one of the fundamental rights. But "Men only" is a common
"prerequisite" to be found at job fairs, for example. Further,
women are more likely to be laid off than men; women tend to earn
less than men get even for the same job.
Another 53.4 percent believe the inequality that exists in the
political arena needs to be resolved. Although half the population
is female, only 9.9 percent of senior officials are women, and only
20.2 percent of the 10th NPC representatives are women.
A further 43.1 percent believe that inequalities in education
need to be addressed. In many parts of China, especially in the
poorer rural areas, girls are more likely to either drop out of
school or not go to school altogether.
Then there is a 37.1 percentage of respondents who believe that
a woman's status in the family and her role as primary caregiver
and homemaker needs to be changed. It is a fact that women now
shoulder the responsibility of earning money alongside the men. But
men still do little or no housework. In most families, women have
to juggle between earning an income and tending to the
housework.
It is also important to note that in rural communities,
daughters do not share equal rights to a family's inheritance as
sons do.
Finally, 36.8 percent believe that a female's right to life is
the fundamental right that must be protected. Birth ratios are now
119.86 males to 100 females. If this archaic trend to eliminate
female births is allowed to continue, serious societal imbalances
and problems await the country.
Mindset change only way to achieve true
equality
A change in mindset might be the most effective way of achieving
true equality, but it is also the hardest. In 1995, the Fourth
World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. It was then that the
Chinese government promised to the world that gender equality would
be made a basic state policy. Ten years on, very few leaders
recognize or acknowledge this "basic state policy", according to Gu
Xiulian.
It was only this year that laws were amended to incorporate a
legal protection of women's rights and interests based on the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
Progress this might be but it is realistic to say that China, an
admittedly traditional and male-dominated society, has a long way
to go before it achieves true gender equality.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, September 12, 2005)