Women's Rights in China

Fake Chinese Women’s rights

Women have always been considered the weaker sex. Throughout history they have had fewer legal rights than men. In many societies, women have had no rights at all. According to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), women’s discrimination is defined as any rejection and distinction based on the foundation of sex that have physical and psychological effects on women (Overview of the convention, 2009). Some people might think that women are discriminated against only in Muslim countries and places where religions are more powerful than laws. Some people do not even think about it, which is even worse (Shah, 2010). In this essay, I use China as a representative of discrimination against women’s’ rights. China has the biggest population in the world, half of which is women. Despite China’s quantum growth economically, the problem of gender inequality is still unsolved. Chinese government claims not to violate women’s rights, nor to condone it, but the reality is that women are considered to be second class citizens in Chinese society.

In the Xia Dynasty (c. 2100 - c. 1600 BC), the social system changed from the dominance of women, or matriarchy to the dominance of men, or patriarchy (ATS members, 2009). Women at that time were a minority in society. They were forced to obey their husbands and even their sons. In order to do a good job, they had to be at home, prepare food, do housework, look after their children and do needlework. Later, in the Xin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC), women roles were still the same, but the concept was more clear and systematic. Rules was written to shape and control women (Tangyeunyong, 2008). In recent years, women have fought for their rights, but there still gaps between men and women. According to China Youth Daily Survey, 77.3% of women are concerned about their employment, 53.4% believe that political and decision-making need to be solved, 43.1% pay attention to...