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BEIJING: Mao Zedong famously said China’s women
hold up half the sky,
but they certainly do not control half of the country’s political
power.
The annual session of the
nation’s parliament, which opened this week, yielded a familiar
sight: rows and rows of men in dark suits and red ties, with only a
few female lawmakers breaking up the monotony.
“Gender equality is China’s
national policy, but the difficult part is actually getting that
implemented,” said Yilisuya, a delegate to the National People’s
Congress and a member of the ethnic Uighur minority.
“When it comes to the ratio of
women in high-level positions, we are not satisfied, and we have
issued many calls on this and will continue to do so,” said
Yilisuya, who uses one name.
With International Women’s Day
falling on Saturday during the parliamentary session, the issue of
gender equality has a particular resonance as China’s
highest-ranking female politician, vice-premier Wu Yi, prepares to
retire.
The 69-year-old Wu, one of the
few women to be named to the ruling Communist Party’s powerful
25-member Politburo, is respected both at home and abroad for her
political guile and negotiating skills on trade issues.
Her expected retirement, possibly
during the two-week parliamentary session, has sparked speculation
as to who will take her place as the most powerful Chinese female
politician.
One person seen as a likely
successor is Liu Yandong, 62, now the only female Politburo member.
But even her rise through the
ranks comes with whispers that it is due as much to her pedigree as
the daughter of a former senior government official, as to her
ability—proving that the battle of the sexes is far from over.
Nevertheless, it is a battle that
has made much progress from imperial times, when women were
virtually seen as chattel and painful practices, such as
foot-binding, were the norm.
Following the communist takeover
in 1949, women were granted a plethora of new freedoms, such as the
right to divorce and to take up government positions.
And while only the most
privileged girls previously went to school, under the communists,
education suddenly became the domain of both sexes.
“The position of women in the
home, in the economic realm, and especially academia, has never
stopped improving since 1949,” said finance professor Cheng
Huifang, who is also one of the female delegates to parliament.
China’s rapid modernization has
afforded women even greater social freedoms and economic
opportunity, but progress has been tainted by the re-emergence of
past evils such as prostitution and the practice of men taking
second wives.
Age-old prejudices make it hard
for most Chinese men to accept a female superior, or for society to
accept that a woman can simultaneously be a mother and have a
successful career, said Liu Xujin, a retired professor formerly with
the Guangxi Women’s Cadre School in the southern city of Nanning.
Critics say another evil is the
country’s one-child policy aimed at controlling the
1.3-billion-strong population, which they call a gross violation of
female reproductive rights.
The world of politics, which
remains a bastion of male chauvinism, has set the tone for the
country, experts say—the wrong tone, according to critics.
Political deals are typically
struck during heavy drinking sessions, which often take place in
entertainment venues where young ladies are provided to amuse
guests.
The parliament, which
rubber-stamps Communist Party wishes, has set goals for gender
equality—and failed to meet them.
Although it last year set a
requirement that future assemblies be at least 22-percent female,
women make up just 21 percent of this year’s gathering of roughly
3,000 delegates, according to state media.
“In the past 10 years, the
number of female delegates to the NPC has grown by just 1 percent
every five years,” said Liu, the retired professor.
“That’s too slow for women to
play a role in politics or for the voice of women to be heard.”
--AFP
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