China cannot achieve gender equality while excluding women from policymaking decisions

An amendment by Beijing to further safeguard women’s rights is laudable, but claims that change should only come from the top ignore centuries of grass-roots struggles
China’s lagging position in the World Economic Forum’s gender equality ranking highlights the need to include women at all levels of discourse

Lijia Zhang

Published: 9:15am, 29 Dec 2021

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The cartoon says it all: a man in a suit writing a law book on women’s rights. The illustration was featured in a recent opinion piece in the Global Times, a tabloid linked to the Chinese government, on the draft amendment of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women.

A few days earlier, the proposed changes had been submitted to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top lawmaking body, for deliberation.

Aimed at better safeguarding women’s interests in the workplace, on the internet and at home, the draft laws mark a significant legislative development in China, and I joyfully applauded it, together with millions of others.

However, that opinion piece cooled much of my joy. It argues that a top-level push is the only way to advance women’s rights in China. It attacks “radical” feminism and dismisses the #MeToo movement as “a political tool” to subvert the Chinese government “under the guise of protecting women’s rights”.

Like the cartoon, the author of the piece suggests that the only people who are allowed to write laws are men and they can’t have women telling them what to do.

A top-level push is certainly extremely important in any country. And the draft laws are a highly commendable initiative. They include 24 additional clauses and 48 revisions.

The new rules, when approved, will ban employers from asking female jobseekers about their marital status and child-raising plans. It has been common practice for companies to refuse to hire women of child-bearing age or sack them if they become pregnant.

The suggested amendments don’t just stop at the workplace. Acknowledging women’s contribution in the home, wives will have the right to demand financial compensation in divorce settlements.

The new laws will define the precise meaning of “discrimination against women” and offer a clearer definition of “sexual harassment”.

All of these amendments are sensible and badly needed. They come at a time when feminists in China are losing hope of seeing any meaningful change after a year plagued with setbacks. Zhou Xiaoxun, the face of China’s #MeToo movement, lost her sexual harassment case against a famous TV presenter.

03:28

Chinese court dismisses landmark #MeToo sexual harassment claim against CCTV anchor

Alibaba sacked a woman who claimed sexual harassment against a male colleague. Most recently, Peng Shuai, a tennis star, accused a senior politician of sexual assault, but later retracted the claim, sparking concern she had been silenced by the Chinese authorities.

The authorities don’t like the women’s liberation or #MeToo movements, as they see any political organisation as a potential trigger for dissent or even a direct threat to the party.

I don’t doubt the Chinese government’s sincerity in pushing for gender equality, but I doubt that China can achieve true equality if its top leaders – almost all men – are the only players.

Currently China lags at 107th place among 153 countries in the World Economic Forum’s annual ranking on global gender equality and its political gender gap remains huge – there are simply not enough women in top government positions.

There is a long way to go before China can live up to the declaration made by Mao Zedong decades ago that, “women hold up half the sky”. To do so, the authorities should mobilise all possible resources, allowing the participation of individuals, NGOs, experts and governmental organisations.

Individual women should be given a voice. If they have the courage to speak out, they should not fear any potential ramifications, like being sacked.

Chinese feminist activists have played a crucial role in narrowing gender inequality. They have called out sexist advertisements, documented instances where women were forced to write promises to not have children and fought legal cases where women were barred from applying for jobs without cause.

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The rights and privileges that women enjoy today were not granted from the charity of those in charge, but fought for by the bravery of women on the ground who organised, protested and dared to demand more.

The efforts of the suffragettes in the 20th century led to women securing the right to vote, own property and access a whole world of freedoms. They did not wait patiently for their rights to be handed to them, and neither should Chinese women.

In other words, women must be allowed to ask for their rights. Otherwise, the saying “women hold up half the sky” will remain as illusive as the sky itself.

Lijia Zhang is a rocket-factory worker turned social commentator, and the author of a novel, Lotus

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