Society
Gender Equality
Aimed to overhaul patriarchal society based on Confucian values of female obedience to
men (daughter to father, wife to husband etc) and traditional female roles (incl as wives +
mothers) only source of authority is communist party, everyone else equal
Positives
- 1949, Foot binding (excruciatingly painful process of breaking toes + folding them
back under foot, regarded as a sign of beauty and distinction) outlawed after
Communists seized power
- 1950, Marriage Law implemented based on principle that marriage is free choice
+ partners have equal rights
Forced marriages, concubinage and polygamy outlawed (measure strongly
supported by Mao, who criticised them for turning women into slaves)
Divorce available on equal terms + husband could not divorce wife if
pregnant or within year of giving birth in first yr one million women used
new power to extricate themselves from forced marriages
Children born out of wedlock had same right as other children
- Work opportunities
Entitled to same pay as men (based on output)
Proportion of women in work quadrupled under Mao from 8% to 32%
However still less than 1/3 + career progression very difficult with top
positions dominated by men
Negatives
- Attitudes slow to change
Muslim regions in the West (eg forced marriages integral part of culture)
Traditional outlook of cadres implementing policy at grass roots level, esp in
agriculture (eg women not being treated equally as men for same work)
evidenced by condemnation of the People’s Daily (mouthpiece of the party)
of gender inequality + unequal pay
- Collectivisation
, In theory should have benefitted female emancipation (provide canteens,
laundries and kindergartens to free females of domestic work)
In reality, did not provide adequate services so women still chained to these
roles
Working conditions also harsher for women than men as earned fewer work
points (distributed according to output + converted into cash + material
rewards) as less able to fulfil heavy physical labour like men
Officials also intolerant of requests for absence due to pregnancy or
menstruation
Worsened by famine, esp as many women divorced by breadwinner
husbands (eg divorce rate rose to 60% Gansu province) had choice of
feeding themselves or their children if had any food at all + many forced into
prostitution or sold by husbands, with children sold or abandoned thereafter
- Cultural revolution
Very disruptive effect on family relationships as came under category of the
‘four olds’ children told that only authority over them was from the party
+ to inform authorities of teachers and relatives clinging to the old ways
After ended, Red Guards also sent up mountain + vast number of teenagers
uprooted from family relationships, finding it hard to reintegrate (12 million
1968-72)
- Population policy
After initially celebrating rapid growth of pop from 540 to 940 million 1949-
76 as demonstrating China’s growing world power, 1971 Mao declared that
birth rate should be reduced to 2% (precursor to better known one child
policy 1979)
Conclusion
Successful to a fair extent
- Gave women huge number of rights + improved work opportunities
- But traditional attitudes slow to change + conditions worsened by collectivisation
Gender Equality
Aimed to overhaul patriarchal society based on Confucian values of female obedience to
men (daughter to father, wife to husband etc) and traditional female roles (incl as wives +
mothers) only source of authority is communist party, everyone else equal
Positives
- 1949, Foot binding (excruciatingly painful process of breaking toes + folding them
back under foot, regarded as a sign of beauty and distinction) outlawed after
Communists seized power
- 1950, Marriage Law implemented based on principle that marriage is free choice
+ partners have equal rights
Forced marriages, concubinage and polygamy outlawed (measure strongly
supported by Mao, who criticised them for turning women into slaves)
Divorce available on equal terms + husband could not divorce wife if
pregnant or within year of giving birth in first yr one million women used
new power to extricate themselves from forced marriages
Children born out of wedlock had same right as other children
- Work opportunities
Entitled to same pay as men (based on output)
Proportion of women in work quadrupled under Mao from 8% to 32%
However still less than 1/3 + career progression very difficult with top
positions dominated by men
Negatives
- Attitudes slow to change
Muslim regions in the West (eg forced marriages integral part of culture)
Traditional outlook of cadres implementing policy at grass roots level, esp in
agriculture (eg women not being treated equally as men for same work)
evidenced by condemnation of the People’s Daily (mouthpiece of the party)
of gender inequality + unequal pay
- Collectivisation
, In theory should have benefitted female emancipation (provide canteens,
laundries and kindergartens to free females of domestic work)
In reality, did not provide adequate services so women still chained to these
roles
Working conditions also harsher for women than men as earned fewer work
points (distributed according to output + converted into cash + material
rewards) as less able to fulfil heavy physical labour like men
Officials also intolerant of requests for absence due to pregnancy or
menstruation
Worsened by famine, esp as many women divorced by breadwinner
husbands (eg divorce rate rose to 60% Gansu province) had choice of
feeding themselves or their children if had any food at all + many forced into
prostitution or sold by husbands, with children sold or abandoned thereafter
- Cultural revolution
Very disruptive effect on family relationships as came under category of the
‘four olds’ children told that only authority over them was from the party
+ to inform authorities of teachers and relatives clinging to the old ways
After ended, Red Guards also sent up mountain + vast number of teenagers
uprooted from family relationships, finding it hard to reintegrate (12 million
1968-72)
- Population policy
After initially celebrating rapid growth of pop from 540 to 940 million 1949-
76 as demonstrating China’s growing world power, 1971 Mao declared that
birth rate should be reduced to 2% (precursor to better known one child
policy 1979)
Conclusion
Successful to a fair extent
- Gave women huge number of rights + improved work opportunities
- But traditional attitudes slow to change + conditions worsened by collectivisation
