The Social Status of Women in China EVA KIT WAH MAN

A CASUAL GLANCE THROUGH THE COLORFUL PAGES OF CHINESE WOMEN’S nmagazines or publications concerning contemporary mainland China might impress the modern reader concerned about the status of women in China. Stories abound about women successfully managing both family and career. Women are portrayed as nearly majestic, their outlooks modern and attractive, and they appear to exude more and more personality and confidence. Also emerging in the ‘90s is a growing number of woman entrepreneurs, scientists, and politicians in mainland China. But do these present an accurate picture of Chinese women nowadays? Questions about women’s issues in mainland China today include the following: Are Chinese women still oppressed? Is a socialist agenda necessary to bring about women’s liberation? To what extent do women understand their struggle as unique among the class struggles in socialist society? How do Chinese women respond to these questions? Attempting to answer these questions will reveal the social status of women in socialist China. Women’s social status is best measured according to the power, the opportunities, and the level of recognition women can achieve in social life and society at large. In order to make such an assessment, the legal, economic, political, educational, and familial status of women must be taken into consideration, and social institutions