Women Flashcards
What did Clause Six of the Communist Common Program of 1949 promise?
The abolition of Restrictions affecting women and affirmed their right to equal treatment with men in political, economic, cultural, educational and social spheres, and the freedom for both men and women to marry whoever they wanted
Some terms of the 1950 Marriage Law
Arranged marriages and dowries outlawed, divorce equal terms but man couldn’t if pregnant or within a year of giving birth, women kept property when married, concubinage and polygamy outlawed
After Marriage Laws, how many used this new divorce system to extricate themselves from arranged marriages?
Over one million women
What other steps did the Communists take
Banned footbinding, the land distribution campaign of 1950 gave women the chance to own land in their own name for 1st time (but short lived, collectivisation)
What was the second propaganda drive in 1953 undermined by?
The outlook of cadres- needed time and a lot more education to shift traditional male attitudes to marriage and the status of women
Why did communes put women at a serious disadvantage?
Earned fewer working points than men as heavy physical labour and treated more harshly as cadres responsible for enforcing discipline held traditional attitudes. most still had domestic duties
How did the famine affect women’s rights?
Men got more food ration as more productive, prostitution, significant rise in divorce rates- Gansu province, divorce rate rose by 60 percent. Wife-selling
How did the Cultural Revolution affect women’s rights?
Meant class issues prioritised, only accepted as RG if as violent
Why was the impact of reforms much more limited in practise than it was in theory?
Traditional attitudes so deeply entrenched that change was not possible, especially in Muslim regions where polygamy was central to their beliefs. Party cadres responsible for carrying out these positive changes of the same mindset
Though women were given more roles in the Party
They only made up 13% of it and Ding Ling complained that women were not taken seriously by their male counterparts
Although the proportion of women in the workforce quadrupled from 1944-76 (8-32%), what was the problem
Still less than 1/3 and career progression limited by male dominance
