China girl, 16, forced by parents to quit school and work helped to resume studies by officials, gets free, safe-haven flat from online influencer
- Harsh treatment of youngster highlights gender disparity in China
- Girls often dragooned into work to support brothers still in school
A 16-year-old girl in China, who was forced by her parents to drop out of secondary school because they considered studying “useless”, has highlighted the gender issues still prevalent in the country.
Liu Qiping, from the central province of Hunan, confided her desire to return to school with an online influencer @Modisijixushifu, on the mainland video-sharing platform Bilibili.
In the video, that attracted 1.3 million views, Liu said that, despite ranking among the top five in her class at the best secondary school in her city, her parents forced her to quit a year ago, just before her second year.
They asked her aunt to take her to southeastern China’s Guangdong province to work and make money for the family.
Liu said she dreamed of going to the Hunan Normal University, a top academic institution in China, and had not given up on her dream even while working at a breakfast shop.
She had to get up at 3.30am every morning to make steamed buns and soybean milk, earning just 2,000 yuan (US$280) in Guangzhou city where the average salary is 9,000 yuan.
She used some of the money to buy textbooks so that she could continue studying by herself after work each day.
Last October, after working at the shop for about six months, Liu ran away from her aunt and returned to her hometown. She dared not go home, so instead she rented a flat for 300 yuan a month.
She said her mother was frequently violent towards her and believed school was a waste of money.
Liu said her mother would beat her, hide her clothes, lock her in the flat, and not give her any money, to prevent her from attending school.
“If they did not want to raise their kid well, why did they give birth to me?” Liu said.
To the delight of social media followers, the local educational bureau responded to Liu’s request to allow her to return to school, and she resumed her studies at her former secondary school, which reduced her tuition fees.
In addition, the relevant local government department promised to visit her parents and try to persuade them to treat their daughter well and support her in her studies.
A volunteer helped Liu seek government assistance and found her a better flat for 500 yuan (US$70) a month, which is closer to her parents’ home, but guarantees her freedom from her mother’s control.
Liu’s story resonated with many people online, who confessed they had similar experiences and highlighted how daughters in China are often forced to make sacrifices to spare resources and financially support their male siblings.
According to official statistics, the gender ratio among Chinese teenagers from 15 to 19 years old was 115.77 males to every 100 females by the end of 2021.
Female students accounted for only 46.7 per cent of all those in secondary school in 2022.
