Looking back on the vicissitudes of the past century, we are delighted to find that the fate of women in China has undergone profound changes, ending the situation of being exiled by social history for thousands of years, and writing a chapter on the overall image of women for the first time in the history of civilization.
In the patriarchal society for thousands of years, women have been living at the bottom of society. They have no right to participate in political, educational and social life. The most tragic thing is women's foot binding. The formation of a pair of feet often takes years to wrap, "a pair of feet, a jar of tears", and the happiness of a lifetime is ruined by these feet. /kloc-The appearance of Tianzu Club at the end of 0/9, along with the promotion of girls' schools, opened the curtain to break the bad habit of foot-binding and liberate women's body and mind.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Cai Yuanpei and others set up the China Education Association in Shanghai, putting the establishment of girls' schools on the agenda. 1907, the Qing government carried out the new policy in the case of internal troubles and foreign invasion. In the field of education, the statutes of girls' schools run by the Ministry of Education and girls' normal schools run by the Ministry of Education were promulgated, and women's education was formally incorporated into the national education system for the first time. In the early years of the Republic of China, women's education in China began to connect with women's career. This move further broke through the concept of educating housewives, enabled women to enter a broader field, expanded their employment choices, and thus improved their ability to adapt to society and make a living independently. This is of great significance to fundamentally promote the development of human resources in China and lay the foundation for improving women's social status.
Education is the prelude of China Women's Liberation Symphony. Intellectual women began to stand at the forefront of anti-feudalism as challengers, showing their spiritual resistance to feudal families and gender discrimination and their enthusiasm for participating in social discussions, thus shaping their new selves in their new lives. We can see that after the May 4th new cultural trend of thought, women's concept of love has undergone great changes. They are no longer looking for a lifelong dependence and Qi Mei, but looking for their own spiritual partners, so that men and women can get along equally. At the same time, the compilation of the civil code, which began in the late Qing Dynasty, also corrected the legal inequality between the two sexes. As a gender group, women have changed from the humble half to the weak who enjoy legal protection. Accordingly, women's rights to participate in employment, political participation and other fields have also improved. Women in several southern provinces took the lead in gaining the right to participate in the market. Hunan woman Wang Yi 192 1 was elected as a provincial councillor, which is also the first time in the history of the world women's movement.
The feat of women's participation in the national liberation struggle in the 20th century is even more epic. 1903, female students studying in Japan organized the first patriotic women's group-* * * Love Autonomy Association. Qiu Jin's "Letter to 200 Million Women Compatriots in China" and the poem "Encourage Women's Rights" calling for being a "national heroine" have become the clarion call to encourage women to advance wave by wave. In the same year, the first monograph on women's issues-Jin Yi's Women's Clock was published, and the author shouted the slogan "Long live women's rights" for the first time.
With the spread of Marxism and the establishment of China Producers' Party, some women took part in the revolutionary struggle to transform China and the world. China producers Xiang Jingyu and Yang Kaihui are outstanding representatives of these women who have devoted themselves to their ideals. With the fierce class struggle and national struggle, the concept of "women" replaced the concept of "women". Awakened workers and peasants women participated in the torrent of national liberation, and female soldiers appeared in the team that did not like red clothes but loved armed forces. In War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the goal of the women's movement in China was first to realize the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal democratic revolution led by the proletariat. During this period, the women's liberation movement in China has been closely linked with the democratic movement and the national liberation movement, and women's consciousness of seeking liberation, independence, freedom and equality has always been integrated with the oppressed class consciousness and revolutionary consciousness.
Since 1949, the status of women in China has been improved as never before, and they enjoy all rights equal to men. They devote themselves to the fiery life of building a new socialist China, and women hold up half the sky, which has become the slogan of women and the reality of life struggle.
However, in the process of seeking women's liberation, we took a detour. The slogan of holding up half the sky has been misused as the physical balance between men and women. In this radical era, gender differences are ignored. On March 8th, the working class, the iron girl class, and the female commandos appeared one after another to compete physically with men, and the harm to women's body and mind can only be realized after calm thinking. However, the establishment of the concept of women's liberation in this era is undeniable.
The 20th century is the century in which women groups appeared for the first time in human history, and it is also the century of women's awakening and revolution. But at the same time, we should also see that although the social status of women in China has changed greatly in this century, it does not mean that the whole social role of women in China has changed. Gender discrimination is still quite serious in many ways. The proportion of out-of-school girls is much higher than that of boys, and there are more laid-off women workers than men. The commercialization of sex is on the rise and is rampant in some areas. These problems show that there is still a long way to go before women can be completely liberated. The real liberation of women depends on the improvement of their own quality and the progress of the whole society. We expect women to have a broader sky in the 2 1 century.
Memorabilia of Women's Liberation in China and Memorabilia of Women's Liberation in China
1900 65438+1On October 8th, Shixian Company, a large department store, opened in Hong Kong. The company adopts the popular western women's clothing sales method.
1900 On February 20th, the natural foot wave rose in Taipei, and the natural foot club aimed to persuade people to let go of their feet and get rid of the bad habit of foot binding.
1In August, 903, Shanghai Patriotic Girls' School released Jin Yi's Woman's Clock. This is the first monograph on women's issues in modern China. The author shouted the slogan "Long live women's rights" for the first time.
On March 8 1907, women's academic qualifications were legalized.
1July 907 15 Qiu Jin, a female democratic revolutionary, died in Xuantingkou, Shaoxing at the age of 3 1.
1912 65438+17 October, Sun Yat-sen met with Lin Zongsu, a representative of the Women's Political Participation Council, to make women fully participate in politics.
1919 in may, Deng Chunlan, a female normal student in Xunhua county, Qinghai province, wrote to Cai Yuanpei, the president of Peking University, asking Peking University to create more female seats and allow women to study in universities, expressing her willingness to set a precedent for women, thus becoming the first woman in China to ask to study in universities.
On March 8th, 1924, Guangzhou working women joined hands with women from all walks of life to hold a grand commemorative event in Guangzhou First Park. Since this commemoration, Women's Day activities have gradually spread to major cities in China.
1March, 927, the first female divorce lawsuit in Xi' an, Xiao Guipan, a student of Xi' an Women's Normal School, filed a divorce lawsuit and held a trial.
1 May 9281China * * * Xiang Jingyu, the first female member of the CPC Central Committee and the first female minister in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, died heroically at the age of 33. Xiang Jingyu is known as the pioneer of the women's movement in China.
Li Sen, a Shanghai female student, participated in the 1 1 Olympic Games held in Berlin on August 2nd, 1936, which was the first time that China sent female athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.
1In July, 949, the first national women's publication "New China Women" in New China was founded. Mao Zedong and Zhu De wrote inscriptions for it respectively.
1957165438+10 In October, Zheng Zaijing broke the women's high jump world record with 1.77 meters. This is the first time that China athletes have set a world record in track and field competition.
On March 7th, 1959, a 900-horsepower harbor diesel tugboat "Woman" was launched in Huangpu River, which was the first ship designed entirely by women in China.
198116543810 At the 3rd Women's Volleyball World Cup held in Japan in October, China won the championship with seven wins out of seven. In the following years, China women's volleyball team won the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Games five times in a row.
From 65438 to 0986, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Personnel, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the All-China Women's Federation jointly issued the Interim Provisions on Women Workers' Health Care, which was the first time since the founding of New China to formulate clear provisions on "five-stage" health care for women workers.
1On April 3, 1992, the Seventh National People's Congress passed the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests in People's Republic of China (PRC).
The Fourth World Conference on Women was successfully concluded in Beijing. From humble to equal
From humble to equal
1, once in the forbidden palace, life-long freedom is limited. These dolls are beautiful women who have been elected to the palace.
2. Rural women in China at the beginning of the century. How can a pair of pointed feet carry heavy work?
Qiu Jin, the heroine of Jianhu Lake, gave her young life for women's liberation.
4. Charm of women's volleyball team
In 1950s and 1960s, the image of Iron Girl appeared all over the country. Due to the influence of ultra-left ideological trend, women have paid a heavy price on the road of exploring their own image.
6. If women win the right to education, they can also become female doctors.
7. Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts 17 graduated from the Department of Western Painting. At that time, the debate about whether to use female models was fierce. The graduating class of the department specially took a group photo with the female model.
8. Happy modern women.
So what is the significance of women's participation in politics in a broad sense? In other words, as women, they pay attention to political issues, the major policies of the country and all aspects of our social life; And not only pay attention to it, but also express opinions on it, have their own views, and actively participate in some social and political activities. For example, if you take part in the election, whether you will vote or not has a lot to do with your concern about this politics or your political attitude. You can express your opinions. If I am dissatisfied with a certain policy or hope that the leaders can adopt my own opinions, I can actively express my opinions. Then your behavior or activity is called political participation in a broad sense.
So what does the narrow sense of women's participation in politics mean? It means that women can enter the party and government leading bodies at all levels, enter the management level of enterprises and institutions, and play your role as managers, leaders and decision makers. So this kind of participation in politics is actually what we are talking about more now, that is, being an official. The so-called official It is you who enter this decision-making level, which is political participation in a narrow sense.
So what we are talking about today is participation in politics in a broad sense or in a narrow sense? I think it means both. Because this broad sense of political participation and narrow sense of political participation complement each other, and because there is no concern about political issues, women's interests and the relationship between the party's principles and policies and women's interests, it is impossible for the best women to stand out and enter the decision-making level. In other words, if our majority of women don't care about politics, then when we enter the high-level decision-making level, women in leadership positions with decision-making power will have no source and insufficient motivation. Therefore, more women can become leaders, which requires more women's awareness of participating in and discussing state affairs. On the other hand, if there are not more women in the decision-making level and leadership, and the female cadres in these decision-making levels and leadership can speak for the interests of women and express their voices, then ordinary grassroots women can't pay attention to this political issue. Because it's all men at first glance anyway, which has nothing to do with us? Therefore, in order to arouse Chinese women's attention to their own interests and political issues, it is also necessary to let more women cadres enter the decision-making level. Therefore, political participation in a broad sense and political participation in a narrow sense complement each other. It is very important to talk about the significance of women's political participation from two aspects. But now we are studying or discussing the issue of women's participation in politics. It may be too narrow to simply treat it as an official. Because what are you doing as an official? Or in order to safeguard women's interests and promote gender equality, then this can also make our top female leaders pay attention to the interests of the masses, and then our masses should also pay attention to our own interests and the development of the whole country. Therefore, we should all care about political participation in broad and narrow sense.
Then what we say below may still refer to political participation in a narrow sense, that is, why women must enter the decision-making level, how to enter the decision-making level, and how to become leaders; What should she do as a female cadre and leader? I think what we are talking about today may be more about the necessity of participating in politics or becoming a leading cadre and the problems we have now. So this is the first concept I want to talk about today, that is, what is participation in politics? Two meanings of women's participation in politics and their relationship.
So the second question is, we need to talk. Why should women participate in politics? Isn't it good to have men in charge? Why do you have to participate in politics by yourself? Why participate in politics? That is, why do you want to enter the decision-making level and leadership? This is a very important question. If we don't solve this problem, maybe we won't try to enter the decision-making level or even if you do, you may not speak for women. Therefore, to solve why women should participate in politics, first of all, from the perspective of the international community, the problem of women's participation in politics is not only a problem of women in China, but also a problem of women all over the world. So from a global perspective, the issue of women's participation in politics should actually be said. More than 200 years have passed since the French Revolution in 1789, so it is counted from the beginning of the French Revolution. Under the slogan of "freedom, equality and fraternity", the bourgeoisie at that time wanted to seize the rights from the feudal lords and thought that all men were born equal. So in this case, this slogan of enlightenment is also an enlightenment to French women at that time. So at that time, some French women suggested that if you men want to seize power from feudal lords, then we women should also have our own rights. Therefore, the current history of women's movement, or the history of women's participation in politics, defines the beginning of women's participation in politics as the French Revolution.
Then in the18th century, in fact, in the major capitalist countries in western Europe, a movement for women's voting rights was launched. Then, from the19th century to the early 20th century, that is, in the 1920s, women in major capitalist countries in the west all gained the right to vote. In other words, legally, women have equal political rights with men, and you have the right to vote. Of course, you may also have the right to be elected.
But in fact, when women get the right to vote, they find that only the legally recognized right to vote does not automatically become your actual right. Then, in social life, women are still oppressed by men in employment and education, which is still unequal. Then, based on our understanding of such a position, since the 1960s and 1970s, you may know that the women's liberation movement in the West has started the second wave. Then the right she wants to fight for at this time is not only such a right to vote recognized by law, but also the rights in all aspects. For example, equal working environment, equal working conditions, equal pay for equal work, that kind of hidden discrimination against women and so on. Therefore, it is the women's liberation movement, which is to turn the political rights recognized by law into practical and visible movements. The development of this movement to the Beijing World Women's Conference in 1995 should be said to have reached a climax or a new starting point. At the end of the World Conference on Women in Beijing, a "program of action" was formed, and 12 key areas of concern were put forward, one of which was women's participation in rights and decision-making. Then the significance of this part of women's participation in politics is very high. Then, in the part of this administrative program on women's participation in rights and decision-making, this administrative program mentions that it says: "Women's equal participation in decision-making is not only a purely fair and democratic requirement, but also a necessary condition for women's interests to be considered. If women's active participation is not included in the decision-making process at all levels and their opinions are not absorbed, it is impossible to achieve the goals of equality, development and peace. " From the perspective of the international community, it was after the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, that is, after 1995. The whole world has accelerated the pace of women's participation in politics, so political parties and governments in many countries have set the goal of women's participation in politics, so it has been seven or eight years since the women's conference in 1995. Then the process of women's participation in politics in this world is very fast. I want to emphasize two points here, that is, the international community has two main views on women's participation in politics. First, women's participation in politics is a basic human right of women, which is the first point; Then the second point is that women's participation in politics is not a problem for women themselves.
We often hear the view that women are not interested in politics, but they like to talk about private topics such as marriage, family and love, so women are not interested in country, politics, class and war. Then this view is incorrect, because first, it is not that women are not interested; Second, even if there are many women who are not interested, it is not because of women. What is the reason? It is the whole social and cultural structure, that is, women are not welcome to participate in politics, which makes it impossible for women to show their talents in the political field. Since she didn't have this possibility, I wouldn't go there to develop myself, so she didn't show concern. What I just said is such an understanding and some basic principles of women's participation in politics from a global perspective.
Let's see why women's participation in politics in China is a very urgent issue for our country and our present situation. Is it a problem that needs everyone's attention and action to improve?
Then I think it can be seen from the following aspects: First of all, that is to say, our country is a country with equality between men and women. 1949 when People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, the first constitution was promulgated at that time, so it stipulated that men and women enjoyed equal rights in all fields of social life, such as politics, economy and culture. In other words, there is no doubt that China is a country where men and women are equal in law and system. In addition, we have done a lot of work for gender equality. However, there is still a long way to go to turn the equality between men and women stipulated in this law or put forward as a slogan into real and practical equality in real life. How to make up for this distance? In other words, how can we turn legal equality into de facto equality? Then women need to participate in politics here, that is to say, only when women enter the decision-making field and more people participate in decision-making, can someone listen to you at this time.
We can give an example. For example, when I was giving gender training to rural women, they gave such an example. For example, if a woman's rights and interests are damaged, she goes to the branch secretary, who can ignore her and think that you are unreasonable. How can I live if I go home again? But if two or three women go to the secretary of the township party Committee or the village head, the secretary of the township party Committee can't be perfunctory. He at least brought her a cup of tea and a glass of water, sat down and said don't worry, and his attitude would change. So if there are 20 women who reflect the same problem now, there will be more people. At this time, as a leader, do you still have to consider it? So in fact, it means that we often say that many hands make light work. Then we do the same in the decision-making field. If there is only one woman in this leading group, her voice is very weak; If there are two, be bold; If there are three, even half. Then at this time, she can express her feelings confidently. Therefore, women need to participate in politics in a certain number and proportion. Therefore, the United Nations stipulated that the World Inter-Parliamentary Union should hold a meeting in New Delhi, India 1997. In the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), it put forward a standard that the proportion of women in decision-making at all levels should reach 30%. First it reaches 30%, then it goes from 30% to 50%, 50/50. Of course, it is unrealistic for you to raise 50% now, so at least 30%, why do you want to raise this ratio? It is because your proportion is high or low that it is related to whether your voice can be heard, whether your voice has power, authority and influence on decision-making after being heard. There are many successful examples of women's participation in politics in the world. Let's not talk about international affairs. Besides, China is China, where there are many female cadres, including the All-China Women's Federation. So now she dares to speak out and defend women's rights and interests, so in fact she has influenced decision-making. For example, the revision of the marriage law includes domestic violence. Although many people think it is not concrete and abstract, it is a great progress compared with the original ellipsis. So how did this progress come from? If there is no such appeal from female scholars and intellectuals, women and even female college students, and women's federations, it will be difficult to write it into the marriage law. So this means that if there is no female participation in politics and no female voice, then these laws, regulations and policies that affect women's interests may harm our interests.
Another reason is from the characteristics of women themselves. It turns out that in the traditional situation of positioning women, we often hear people say that women are narrow-minded, sensitive, ignorant of politics, and unsuitable for being an official or participating in politics. But in fact, there are many female cadres in our country, and her ability; Her courage; Her achievements; Completely comparable to male cadres. And especially in the long-term process of gender socialization, women have formed such a feature, that is, they are more careful, consider the characteristics of others, consider problems more carefully, and deal with problems more humanely. Then some of her qualities are really needed by a leading cadre. So now I hear many male cadres say that female cadres have any advantages in being with them, that they work very hard, that they are very honest and so on. Of course, I also think this is not all, because female cadres can't bear hardships. However, as far as many reflections I have heard are concerned, that is to say, female cadres do have the female characteristics formed by her original gender division of labor, which is an advantage for a leading cadre, not a disadvantage. Therefore, we should carry forward such an advantage of women, then use this advantage, and then take this advantage as one of our advantages in participating in politics to win the right to participate in politics, which is from the perspective of women's own characteristics. In addition, I would like to say a little more, that is, from the perspective of the lofty goals put forward by our party and country, that is to say, you want to achieve a well-off society, and the Sixteenth National Congress also proposed to strengthen the construction of socialist political democracy. Are these empty? No, it should be reflected in all aspects of our reform, so women's participation in politics is actually an important part of political democratization and socialist democratic construction, that is to say, the so-called marginalized people can make their voices heard and expressed, so that their interests can be taken into account in national decision-making, so that women's participation in politics can promote the realization of such a goal, and women's participation in politics should actually be included in the process of political democracy in our country.
What misunderstandings should we be wary of here? In other words, as we said just now, women's participation in politics is the embodiment of women's human rights, so let your interests be expressed and your voice be heard. You should consider that the interests of women should not be ignored in such a decision-making without a gender perspective, so the significance of women's participation in politics is here, that is, to promote equality between men and women. At this point, this is the most critical. So now I say where is the misunderstanding? In other words, some people think that you women participate in politics in order to seize power from men or that you women participate in politics in order to do the opposite. You think that the patriarchal society has oppressed you, so now that you have gained power, you oppress men. I think it is wrong for men to think so. If women want to think so, it is also wrong. When I gain power, I will oppress people. That's not true. Then women's participation in politics should actually achieve gender equality, that is, to establish a partnership of gender equality, which is the goal of participation in politics. So I went on to say, what is the goal of women's participation in politics?
I think we can look at its goal from two aspects: one is the goal of quantity; One is qualitative goal. The so-called quantity: that is to say, our women's participation in politics should reach a certain proportion. For example, among leading cadres at all levels, what proportion should women cadres occupy? For example, the United Nations has put forward a minimum ratio of 30%, and now many countries in the world have stipulated the ratio of women's participation in politics: for example, in Norway, the Norwegian government has stipulated that the number of women cadres in various committees and councils under the government should reach 40%, which is their prescribed ratio. Then some political parties have also proposed that the party member proportion of party representatives should reach 20%, 35% and 40%, which means that no gender in a political party can be lower than 40% or no gender can exceed 60%. In other words, this ratio is very important, and its importance has actually been mentioned just now. That is to say, if you don't have a certain amount, you can't make your own voice. This is a goal of women's participation in politics, that is, they must reach a certain proportion. Of course, the ideal proportion is 50%, because the population of women and men is the same, each accounting for 50%. Then it should be equal in an authority. However, because women have not had this right for a long time, this is a gradual process, so now the proportion can be reduced, and then after reaching 30%, it can reach 40% or 50%, which is an indicator of political participation.
Then there is a very important political participation index, that is, women should speak for women and express their voices in political participation. This is a more important indicator. Why? That is to say, if your number reaches, but what you say is the same as what men say, your number is meaningless, right? Meaningless. Why? Because if you reach 20%, 30% and 50%, but what you say is the same as what the official with male chauvinism said, then you don't have to participate in politics, then you don't have to participate in politics, because you are the same as what he said. So what is the qualitative index of women's participation in politics? Is to see if this woman who participates in politics can speak for women and express their voices. So I think that is to say, on this issue, that is to say, the significance of women's participation in politics, the purpose of her participation in politics, why she should participate in politics, and the goal of participation in politics are very important on this issue, and we must have a very clear understanding. Therefore, at the Beijing World Conference on Women (1995) which I just mentioned, the United Nations put forward the Programme of Action. What problems are emphasized in every field of its 12 concern? Everyone stressed that gender issues should be mainstreamed in decision-making. On political issues and participation in politics, we should bring you into the mainstream of decision-making and consider the significance of women's participation in politics. Women are not a disadvantage in participating in politics, but actively create conditions for women to participate in politics, thus bringing a gender perspective into such a field of participation in politics. Therefore, there is a very important point of view in UN agencies now, that is to say, gender should be brought into the mainstream of decision-making in UN agencies. The United Nations helps the poor, you fight against the war, you fight AIDS, you carry out worldwide literacy and so on, so there are gender issues in these fields. On the issue of AIDS, women are in a weak position. Because of her physical weakness and structural problems, as well as her social status, she can't resist unsafe sex and so on. These problems cannot be solved if they are not discussed from the perspective of gender. Therefore, talking about women's issues is not about women, but about the equality, development and peace of this society. This is a question of rights and institutional structure, not just women's issues. Therefore, women's participation in politics, if you don't understand this, then your participation in politics will be greatly reduced. At best, you can prove that you can be an official and participate in politics, but you can't prove that you understand the plight of women. So as a woman, you have not contributed to the development of women, so how you speak for women is very important. Of course, as we said just now, women's participation in politics is a process of promoting democratization. What about women's participation in politics under our existing system? what can I do? So now there are experts and scholars studying it, and the fact is the same. In other words, there are three main ways for women to participate in politics in China. Of course, what I mean by participation here mainly refers to participation in politics in a narrow sense, that is, participation in politics in the sense of being an official and entering the decision-making level.
So now there are three main ways for women to participate in politics in our country, and we can formulate some strategies from these three ways to promote women's participation in politics.
Then the first way is the appointment system, so this appointment system, especially among senior leading cadres, is a common way for cadres to participate in and discuss state affairs. If the superior organization department or superior leader has a gender awareness in his mind and can consider that this cadre can benefit women after promotion, then he will appoint such a cadre, which will be very effective immediately. But it also has disadvantages. What are its shortcomings? That is to say, if the woman he appoints has no gender awareness, she will become a female cadre and leader, but because she has no gender awareness, although she is a woman, she may not be able to speak for women. So what strategy should we have for this appointment system? That is to say, male leaders in leading departments and organizations should be trained in gender awareness, so that they can understand how to choose a more suitable female cadre, how to choose more female cadres to enter the decision-making level, and why to choose them. At present, the Central Party School has a women's studies center, and one of their tasks now is to train the party's reserve cadres in gender, hoping to achieve some results in the future.