Do Women Still Hold up Half the Sky in China?

More than half a century ago, Mao Zedong – the founding father of People’s Republic of China (PRC) – famously proclaimed that “women hold up half the sky.” He explained, “Times have changed… today men and women are equal. Whatever men comrades can accomplish, women comrades can too.” This statement has been long regarded as proof that the status of Chinese women was significantly elevated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the founding of the PRC.

Now, as times have changed again, Chinese women, in a new social climate, can’t help but review their current status. Do women still hold up half the sky in China, against the backdrop of a new global feminist movement?

The answer seems to be more complicated than a simple yes or no. More Chinese feminists are rising, but, at the same time, they are being fiercely suppressed by both a revived male chauvinist tradition and the government, which opposes any and all social movements.

Revived Women’s Morality Education

In early December, some lectures on women’s morality given by a traditional cultural institute in Fushun city in northern China went viral on Chinese websites and triggered a wave of condemnation.

The series of videos, posted online, contained some appalling lessons for women:

• “If a woman has sex with more than three men, she could catch disease and die.”
• “Never fight back when your husband is beating you, and never argue when your husband is scolding you.”
• “Women should stay obedient and never get divorced.”
• “Women should just stay at the bottom level of society and shouldn't attempt to go up.”
• “Women must always obey the orders of their fathers, husbands, and sons.”

As soon as the videos went public, the backlash began. Beyond harsh comments made by Chinese netizens, numerous Chinese media outlets, including state-run papers, published editorials to condemn the institute.

Under national pressure, the Fushun city government closed down the institute and carried out a city-wide inspection, vowing to “resolutely put an end” to messages that are “contradictory the core values of socialism.”

However, the incident was just one outbreak of a disturbing phenomenon. In recent years, education focused on women’s morality has returned to the public arena.

Under the guise of “carrying forward the cultural heritage of Chinese traditional virtues,” as I wrote earlier this year, many private schools promoting women’s morality have sprung up in China. These schools don’t teach women about gender equality but rather promote China’s thousands-year-old suppression of women, such as Three Obediences and Four Virtues — which hold that a woman should be obedient to her father before marriage, to her husband after marriage, and to her son after the death of her husband. Some such schools have been banned and closed by local governments, but new ones have opened.

Feminism Rising in China

Against the trend of revived women’s morality education stands the rise of Chinese feminists connected with the global feminist movement.

In recent years, more and more Chinese women – particularly those living in more developed urban areas – have begun identifying themselves as feminists. They publicly promote feminist concepts and, at the same time, boldly confront controversial remarks online.

One confrontation that erupted online recently was sparked by remarks made four years ago by a male professor at a top university.

Feng Gang, a sociology professor at Zhejiang University, one of the most prominent universities in China, wrote about his experience interviewing candidates for a master's degree program on Weibo back in 2013. He claimed, “Less than 10 percent of women in the master's program will actually continue on the academic career path and most of them don't really focus on their studies during the program. They are only here for the diploma.”

This short paragraph posted four years ago somehow gained attention on Weibo recently and triggered a small wave of disagreement.

Faced with criticism, Feng counterattacked with explicitly sexist statements such as, “History has proven that academia is not the domain of women.” He further contended that “I have no prejudice against women… It’s just that I cannot bear prejudiced women” – a reference to women who call themselves feminists.

These follow-up posts immediately caused a larger wave of condemnation. Some female students launched a petition calling for Feng to apologize for his sexist remarks.

In response, Feng accepted multiple Chinese newspapers’ interviews and repeatedly refused to apologize. “I will not apologize even in my next life. I am not wrong. Why should I?” he said. “Some Chinese feminists, with extremely low qualities, only want women’s rights, but don’t want to assume women’s obligations.”

Although the incident ended up a farce – the petition was deleted by China’s censors and Feng remains in his post at Zhejiang University – the outbreak itself indicates the reality of China’s rising feminists and the adversity which they face.

Such sexist opinions are not only upheld by so-called traditionalists, but also by many elites – mostly male – who have a voice in deciding policies issued by Chinese government.

Chinese Government’s Fierce Suppression

Meanwhile, the Chinese government’s suppression of the country’s feminist movement has been fierce. In general, Chinese authorities don’t appreciate any organized movement, for fear activism of any kind will induce instability.

This suppression came to a head in 2015, when Chinese authorities detained five women’s rights activists under the charges of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles.” The five women had planned to distribute fliers denouncing sexual harassment. Since then, any efforts to advocate women’s rights have faced difficulties both online and in the street.

This development is in line with other clampdowns on the whole of civil society since Chinese leader Xi Jinping took the helm in late 2012.

In addition, since abolishing the one-child policy in 2015, the Chinese government has been actively encouraging Chinese women – particularly those with advanced education – to go back home and produce babies.

Some scholars, such as Leta Hong Fincher, author of Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China, even argue that the Chinese government has intentionally led a campaign to shame China’s women into marriage, by repeatedly telling unwed women through state media that they will be “leftover” and unwanted.

Whether Fincher’s point is true or not, the fact that women are extremely underrepresented in China’s politics is obvious.

The closing of the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) showed once again that China has a political glass ceiling too hard for women to break. In the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top decision-making body, all seven members are male; no woman has ever made it to this rank. In the Politburo, the second most important political body, only one female – Sun Chunlan, 67 – sits among the 25 members. As for the third-top political body, the Central Committee, only 10 of the 204 members are women.

The stark reality of China’s blatant gender inequality in the workplace also, to some degree, explains women’s underrepresentation in politics.

According to China’s law, the official retirement age for most male cadres is 60, while male leaders at the top may serve until at least 67, by an unspoken rule. Yet the retirement age for female cadres, civil servants, and employees of state enterprises is 55. As for ordinary workers, male workers should retire at 55, female workers at 50.

Despite of all these setbacks, more and more Chinese women have awakened to the global feminist movement. Many have been trying to have their voices heard in China.