Women Literacy in China

Women Literacy in China Student Name Institutional Affiliation Women Literacy in China Question 4 Like women in a majority of cultures in the world, women in China suffered due to their low status in society. The most institutionalized sexist practices originated from the philosophy of “filial piety” of Confucius. The “filial piety” stipulated that women were supposed to obey men, citizens were to obey the ruler, and the young must obey the elderly. These rules were critical in maintaining the patriarchal order in society. Before the socialist period, China largely adopted these practices. During the socialist period, gender equality policies had both positive and negative implications on the lives of women. Initially, women were subjected to occupational segregation. Zhang (2001) indicates while in school, there were inspired to take nontraditional gender roles. A majority of female students wanted to become “women engineers,” “female scientists,” “Female pilots,” etc. Most of the girls did not mention anything to do with becoming mothers. Zhang recalls that it is only one student who wrote of growing up to become the wife of an ambassador during middle school. That student wanted to attain social status through getting married rather than her making. Due to gender equality policies, Zhang never felt inferior to the boys as a girl. Due to the emphasis that time had changed and that men and women were the same, girls could undertake unconventional roles and enter into the male-dominated fields. Gender equality policies also brought negative implications on the lives of women. At Middle Age (1982) movie, tells the story of Lu Wenting, a 42-year-old woman who experiences emotional breakdown because of having conflicting roles. She cannot find a balance between being a surgeon, wife and a mother of two children. Due to the socialist policies promoting gender equality, Wenting has been able to attend school and qualify as a surgeon. However, she has to deal with the excess workload at her place of work which makes her feel guilty of neglecting her children. Her marriage is sinking as she lacks time to be with her husband. Although gender equality has enabled Wenting to become a successful career woman, her emotional health breaks down due to the high demands placed on her. Unlike Zhang who enjoys her career as an empowered woman, Wenting does not enjoy the fruits of her ha...