Women
Before Mao:
-The Confucian thought valued wives' obedience to their husbands
-A low status in society, baby girls were not valued as highly as their
brothers
-Girls were married off in their early teens and they had to submit to their
husband's authority. She was now completely dependent on the man and
had no independence or finances. - They were treated as slaves by their
husbands and in-laws.
-Desperate families resulted to violence and infanticide against their girl
children.
-Even after their husbands died, according to the Confucius thoughts, they
could not be remarried, so they remained financially vulnerable.
Mao’s Reforms
-He was strongly against the treatment of women in China and even
condemned arranged marriage referring to it as ‘indirect rape’
-Passed the New marriage Law (1st May 1950): End the inequalities of
patriarchy by giving women legal equality to men. This included:
-Arranged marriages and dowries were outlawed, men and women had
the right to divorce, concubinage and polygamy were outlawed, women
could keep their properties after divorce
Success/Failure:
-Creation of Women’s association: organised classes to improve women’s
literacy, set up ploughing lessons, denunciation meetings to speak out
against patriarchy
-Number of women in cadres increased: from 8% and 12% in 1958-66 to
16% and 21% from 1970-74.
-Collectivisation and living in the communes negatively affected women’s
lives: women received less work points than men despite their skills,
sexual abuse was rife, when food was low, women were neglected, forced
into prostitution, expectant mothers, forced to work miscarried, double
shift for women, kindergartens were a failure (diarrhoea, measles were
common)
Before Mao:
-The Confucian thought valued wives' obedience to their husbands
-A low status in society, baby girls were not valued as highly as their
brothers
-Girls were married off in their early teens and they had to submit to their
husband's authority. She was now completely dependent on the man and
had no independence or finances. - They were treated as slaves by their
husbands and in-laws.
-Desperate families resulted to violence and infanticide against their girl
children.
-Even after their husbands died, according to the Confucius thoughts, they
could not be remarried, so they remained financially vulnerable.
Mao’s Reforms
-He was strongly against the treatment of women in China and even
condemned arranged marriage referring to it as ‘indirect rape’
-Passed the New marriage Law (1st May 1950): End the inequalities of
patriarchy by giving women legal equality to men. This included:
-Arranged marriages and dowries were outlawed, men and women had
the right to divorce, concubinage and polygamy were outlawed, women
could keep their properties after divorce
Success/Failure:
-Creation of Women’s association: organised classes to improve women’s
literacy, set up ploughing lessons, denunciation meetings to speak out
against patriarchy
-Number of women in cadres increased: from 8% and 12% in 1958-66 to
16% and 21% from 1970-74.
-Collectivisation and living in the communes negatively affected women’s
lives: women received less work points than men despite their skills,
sexual abuse was rife, when food was low, women were neglected, forced
into prostitution, expectant mothers, forced to work miscarried, double
shift for women, kindergartens were a failure (diarrhoea, measles were
common)
