Le Tone Wei Ho w successf ully di d Ma o impro ve th e righ ts an d stat us ofof WOMEN IN CHINA …

“Women hold up half the sky.” - Mao Zedong

What was Mao’s attitude towards women ?

"The circumstances in which Miss Chao found herself were the following; (1) Chinese society; (2) the Chao family of Nanyang Street in Changsha; (3)the Wu family of Kantzuyuan Street in Changsha, the family of the husband she did not want. These three factors constituted three iron nets, composing a kind of triangular cage. Once caught in these three nets, it was in vain that she sought life in every way possible. There was no way for her to go on living... It happened because of the shameful system of arranged marriages, because of the darkness of the social system, the negation of the individual will, and the absence of the freedom to choose one's own mate."

"ensure freedom of marriage and equality as between men and women,"

"In order to build a great socialist society it is of the utmost importance to arouse the broad masses of women to join in productive activity. Men and women must receive equal pay for equal work in production. Genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the process of the socialist transformation of society as a whole"

I want to create a country without oppression where women are equal and fully participated in all spheres of society. Therefore: 1.I believe women are just as equal as man. 2.I am supportive of women rights. 3.I am willing to ameliorate the status of women. HOWE VER

How did Mao’s attitude towards women influence his policies? Policies inaugurated by Mao that advocated women's rights Policies inaugurated by Mao that changed women’s rights

Before - Arranged between families rather than two individuals. - Spouse selection based on family needs and socioeconomic status of potential mate, rather than love or attraction. - Women’s duty was to provide a son in order to continue family name. - Involved negotiation of a bride price, gifts bestowed to the bride’s family. - Monetary compensation was utilised in purchase marriages in which women were seen as property that could be sold and traded. Marriage and Family Planning

After The Marriage Law of 1950

Before Crimes Against Women’s Rights After -F-F o o t b i n d i n g. -T-T r a f f i c k i n g a n d p r o s t i t u t i o n , R e p u b l i c a n g o v e r n m e n t o u t l a w e d f o o t b i n d i n g , f o o t b i n d i n g w a s c o m p l e t e l y b a n n e d s, M a o l a u n c h e d c a m p a i g n t o e r a d i c a t e p r o s t i t u t i o n. -T-T r a f f i c k i n g w o m e n w a s s e v e r e l y p u n i s h a b l e b y l a w. -R-R e h a b i l i t a t i o n p r o g r a m s i n t r o d u c e d t o a i d w o m e n.

Health Care & Employment - In traditional Chinese culture, male were superior hence health care was tailored to focus on them. - During the Cultural Revolution, women in the workforce were granted health care. - Various laws enacted and protected the health care rights of women, including the Maternal and Child Care Law. - According to a study by Bauer et al., of women who married between 1950 and 1965, 70% had jobs, and women who married between 1966 and 1976, 92% had jobs. - Women were granted with more job opportunities , Chinese working women represented 43% of the total population.

How committed to female emancipation were Mao and the CCP?

Mao was a firm believer in women rights. However… - Mao and the party often failed to respect the principle of female equality. - In Mao’s personal life, Mao used/patronised women. - Mao became a notorious womaniser in his later years. - CCP operated a very much male-dominated system. - Domestic chores were carried out by female comrades.

-D-Ding Ling, an intellectual and China’s leading feminist writer, had impressed Mao and joined the communists in Yanan. -D-Ding Ling described Mao and the CCP as hypocrites. -D-Ding Ling asserted that contrary to their claim to be revolutionaries, they lived comfortable lives at Yanan exploiting the women that worked for them. -D-Ding Ling believed that Mao’s brand of socialism did not truly include female emancipation.

Did women gain or lose from collectivisation ? s, laws granting women the right to own and sell land and property were passed. - Land redistribution and seizure of properties of the landlords benefitted women as they were granted land in their own name. - However, Mao’s massive collectivisation program ended the holding of private property by either men or women and required people to live in communes. - Living in communes meant that women no longer had the daily drudgery of finding food and preparing it for the family. - Women in the workforce quadrupled from 8 to 32%, this may be advantageous if the work was suitable, but disadvantageous if heavy physical labour were offered. - Prejudice against women was still present as social values and attitudes cannot be changed in such a short time.

= Women did gain, and lose, during collectivisation.

Were women particularly vulnerable during the Great Famine? Women… 1.…suffered the most. 2.…could not provide for their children. 3.…suffered psychological shocks. “Parents would decide to allow the old and the young to die first. They thought they could not allow their sons to die but a mother would say to a daughter, ‘You have to go and see your granny in heaven’. They stopped giving the girl food. They they swapped the body of their daughter with that of a neighbour’s. About five to seven women would agree to do this amongst themselves. Then they boiled the corpses into a kind of soup. People accepted this as it was a kind of hunger culture.” Women were particularly vulnerable during the Great Famine.

What was the impact of the Cultural Revolution on women and the family?

Conclusion: How successfully did Mao improve the rights and status of women in China? Extremely successful Extremely unsuccessfu l Mao’s policies Marriage, crime, healthcare policies were successful in improving the rights and status of women in China. Mao and the CCP weren’t committed enough in spreading equality between the sexes. It is impossible to change social and traditional beliefs in such a short time.

Bibliography Mao on Women. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2014, from sfr-21.org: The Lives of Rural and Urban Chinese Women under State Capitalism. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2014, from mytholyoke.edu: Under%20Mao.htm Under%20Mao.htm Jackson, S. (2008). Papers reveal Mao’s view of women. Retrieved May 8, 2014, from BBC news: Women in China. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2014, from Wikipedia: Lynch, M. (2008). Access to History: The People’s Republic of China London: Hodder Education. The End!