International Women’s Day: Women in China suffer patriarchal oppression, gender discrimination

Under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s rule in China, women have to undergo harrowing experiences of suppression in society at large, unlike their male counterparts.

Varied issues spanning from patriarchal oppression, discrimination at the workplace, sexual harassment, lower representation in the secretariat and legislature to issues of sexual objectification and unfair employment practices are prevailing in Chinese society.

In China, women have to go through such humiliation. The Chinese authorities have tried to control the MeToo movement by either refusing to take cognisance of the complaints or burdening the victims with the demand of proof, fines or counter-complaints, reported The Hong Kong Post.

Even though China’s economy is huge, the condition of women in the country’s performance assessed in the 2021 Global Gender Gap is deteriorating and is below the global average.

Social activist Lu Pin said that Chinese authorities have made things difficult got women. She pointed out that the authorities are cracking down on women saying, “Women’s anger at male[1]dominated power and anger at feminism being suppressed by the state are two waves of anger that are entwined after feminism was labelled as a hostile foreign force.”

The parameters on which the women in China are hired are more troublesome. A Chinese working woman, Ma said, “Many advertisers on recruitment sites explicitly stated that they only hire married women who have already given birth.”

The women’s labour force participation had dropped to 60.5 per cent in 2019 from 73.02 per cent in 1990. A Chinese researcher at Human Rights Watch, Yaqiu Wang, said that the Chinese government policies are against gender equality and deeply discriminatory, reported The HK Post.

Another is sexual objectification, where job advertisement cries foul of the Chinese policies and the society governed by the Chinese Communist Party. “Looking for a pretty female must be taller than 1.70 metres, with fine features,” read a job advertisement.

Rather than addressing the issues prevailing in the society, the Chinese authorities are diverting from the issues and taking action against the complaints and female activists.