Social and Cultural changes from 1949 – 1976?
To what extent did the status of women change between 1949 and 1976
Women’s status before the communists took power:
- Traditional Chinese society was patriarchal and based on Confucian values (one of the most
key elements being obedience)
- Duty of women to obey men (wives obey husbands, widows obey eldest son ect)
- Believed that the harmony of the society was reliant on this
- Revolution in 1911 did lead to women gaining more rights but did not bring equality and old
practices were still being followed (particularly in rural areas)
What communists promised in relation to status of women:
- Clause 6 of the communist common programme of 1949 promised the abolition of
restrictions affecting women and affirmed their right to equal treatment with men in all
spheres including economic, social, cultural ect
- Communists committed to eradicating all signs of China’s feudal past which required the
destroying of the concept of family as the basic social unit
Women’s status in theory was significantly raised by the communists ,however, merely passing new
law as was not enough to alter the deeply ingrained attitudes, so impact was much more limited in
practice
Laws introduced to ensure equal treatment of women
- Foot binding:
o Involves the breaking of young girls toes and the folding of them back under to foot
(they are then tightly bound)
o Small feet was regarded by men as a sign of beauty and it was also convenient as a
way to restrict a woman’s movement
o The practice has come under challenge in early 19 th century and was outlawed in
1911
o However, it still persisted in rural areas and their decisions to ban it brought it too a
speedier end (although it was already on its way out)
- Marriage law 1950
o One of the first laws that they introduced
o The marriage law drastically changed the basis of marriage from a contractual
marriage arrangement between families to something freely entered into by two
individuals
o Mao had personally been involved in opposing arranged marriages due to his
experience at 14 where he had to rebel by refusing to go through a marriage with a
women 7 years his senior.
o Mao wrote a series of pieces condemning marriage and depicting as enslaving the
women and made it clear that advancing women’s rights was an integral part of the
communist programme
o The rise in women’s rights also seemed practical for Mao as they accounted for 50%
of the population (he had referred to them as holding up the sky)
o New law based on principle that marriage should be a free choice between both
partners and main clauses including:
, Outlawed the practice of arranged marriages and payment of dowries to
husband
Men and women who had been forced to get married had right to divorce
All marriages and divorces had to be registered with local government
Divorce was to be available on equal terms, except a man could not divorce
his wife if she was pregnant or within a year of her giving birth
Children born out of wedlock had equal rights with other children
Women retained right to keep property they already owned when they
married
Concubinage and polygamy were outlaws
How they informed new laws
- Huge propaganda campaign in the press, on the radio and through posters and leaflets
- Party organised thousands of drama troupes to take plays that published the new laws
around the villages
- Party cadres were urged to check if the new law was actually being applied
Extent of success of these laws
- Law was limited by traditional resistance (particularly in the Muslim regions of the west)
- A second propaganda drive was launched in 1953, but this was also undermined by the
outlook of the cadres, many who resented the change
Impact of collectivisation and the communes on women’s lives
- Land redistribution campaign of 1950 appeared to have advanced the cause of women’s
emancipation significantly, as it gave women the chance to won land in own name for first
time
- This was short lived due to the new collectivisation scheme which became compulsory a few
years later
- In theory, communes should have been beneficial for women, as they provided canteens,
laundries and kindergarten which would free women from domestic chores which would
allow them to work on land or on any other enterprises in the commune
- However, in reality few communes could provide this range of facilities and resulted in
communes being much less liberating.
- Women tended on earn fewer work points than men due to the physical nature of the work
which involved heavy physical labour and a women’s productive capacity was much lower
than men
- Moreover, the cadres responsible for enforcing discipline usually held traditional attitudes
and were intolerant of requests for the absence of women who were pregnant of on their
period – this meant women were frequently treated more harshly than men
- Impact of the famine on women’s vulnerability
o It increased from 1958-62 as food became much scarcer
o As more productive, men could claim more food rations
o As mothers, women had to decide if they or their children were going to be fed first,
if at all
o Lack of food can be argued to be the reason for the rise in women becoming
prostitutes and caused a significant rise in divorce rates in the worst hit areas
Eg in Gansu province the divorce rate rose by 60% in famine years as well as
wife selling to make their resources go further
To what extent did the status of women change between 1949 and 1976
Women’s status before the communists took power:
- Traditional Chinese society was patriarchal and based on Confucian values (one of the most
key elements being obedience)
- Duty of women to obey men (wives obey husbands, widows obey eldest son ect)
- Believed that the harmony of the society was reliant on this
- Revolution in 1911 did lead to women gaining more rights but did not bring equality and old
practices were still being followed (particularly in rural areas)
What communists promised in relation to status of women:
- Clause 6 of the communist common programme of 1949 promised the abolition of
restrictions affecting women and affirmed their right to equal treatment with men in all
spheres including economic, social, cultural ect
- Communists committed to eradicating all signs of China’s feudal past which required the
destroying of the concept of family as the basic social unit
Women’s status in theory was significantly raised by the communists ,however, merely passing new
law as was not enough to alter the deeply ingrained attitudes, so impact was much more limited in
practice
Laws introduced to ensure equal treatment of women
- Foot binding:
o Involves the breaking of young girls toes and the folding of them back under to foot
(they are then tightly bound)
o Small feet was regarded by men as a sign of beauty and it was also convenient as a
way to restrict a woman’s movement
o The practice has come under challenge in early 19 th century and was outlawed in
1911
o However, it still persisted in rural areas and their decisions to ban it brought it too a
speedier end (although it was already on its way out)
- Marriage law 1950
o One of the first laws that they introduced
o The marriage law drastically changed the basis of marriage from a contractual
marriage arrangement between families to something freely entered into by two
individuals
o Mao had personally been involved in opposing arranged marriages due to his
experience at 14 where he had to rebel by refusing to go through a marriage with a
women 7 years his senior.
o Mao wrote a series of pieces condemning marriage and depicting as enslaving the
women and made it clear that advancing women’s rights was an integral part of the
communist programme
o The rise in women’s rights also seemed practical for Mao as they accounted for 50%
of the population (he had referred to them as holding up the sky)
o New law based on principle that marriage should be a free choice between both
partners and main clauses including:
, Outlawed the practice of arranged marriages and payment of dowries to
husband
Men and women who had been forced to get married had right to divorce
All marriages and divorces had to be registered with local government
Divorce was to be available on equal terms, except a man could not divorce
his wife if she was pregnant or within a year of her giving birth
Children born out of wedlock had equal rights with other children
Women retained right to keep property they already owned when they
married
Concubinage and polygamy were outlaws
How they informed new laws
- Huge propaganda campaign in the press, on the radio and through posters and leaflets
- Party organised thousands of drama troupes to take plays that published the new laws
around the villages
- Party cadres were urged to check if the new law was actually being applied
Extent of success of these laws
- Law was limited by traditional resistance (particularly in the Muslim regions of the west)
- A second propaganda drive was launched in 1953, but this was also undermined by the
outlook of the cadres, many who resented the change
Impact of collectivisation and the communes on women’s lives
- Land redistribution campaign of 1950 appeared to have advanced the cause of women’s
emancipation significantly, as it gave women the chance to won land in own name for first
time
- This was short lived due to the new collectivisation scheme which became compulsory a few
years later
- In theory, communes should have been beneficial for women, as they provided canteens,
laundries and kindergarten which would free women from domestic chores which would
allow them to work on land or on any other enterprises in the commune
- However, in reality few communes could provide this range of facilities and resulted in
communes being much less liberating.
- Women tended on earn fewer work points than men due to the physical nature of the work
which involved heavy physical labour and a women’s productive capacity was much lower
than men
- Moreover, the cadres responsible for enforcing discipline usually held traditional attitudes
and were intolerant of requests for the absence of women who were pregnant of on their
period – this meant women were frequently treated more harshly than men
- Impact of the famine on women’s vulnerability
o It increased from 1958-62 as food became much scarcer
o As more productive, men could claim more food rations
o As mothers, women had to decide if they or their children were going to be fed first,
if at all
o Lack of food can be argued to be the reason for the rise in women becoming
prostitutes and caused a significant rise in divorce rates in the worst hit areas
Eg in Gansu province the divorce rate rose by 60% in famine years as well as
wife selling to make their resources go further
