Women gain more say in China's politics

Chinese women have more of a say in politics, with over 200 of them now in highly prized positions such as governors and cabinet ministers, a senior official announced on Tuesday.

The proportion of female officials at various levels of government and state institutions has risen to 40 percent, said Huang Qingyi,vice-president and first secretary of the All-China Women's Federation Secretariat, speaking at a press conference.

"The participation of women in politics has increased enormously," Huang remarked, noting that currently there are nine female state leaders.

These important women include Wu Yi, vice-premier and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, State Councilor Chen Zhili, along with He Luli, Gu Xiulian and Uyunqimg, all vice-chairwomen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

Since 2001, five women have been promoted to high profile positions, Huang added.

At the end of 2005, there were 241 women in ministerial posts, key provincial decision-making positions, or in equally important posts at state agencies.

China has a long history of preference towards men and only a few women managed to squeeze themselves into positions of power during the country's feudal past. Generations of Chinese women were once forced to bind their feet, a kowtow to the weird culture at the time that appreciated the "beauty" of deformed small feet.

The position of women in Chinese society started to rise remarkably since the Communist Party came to power, under Mao Zedong's claim that, "Women should hold up half of the sky."

This opened opportunities for women, even from the grassroots of society, to climb up the political ladder.

Huang, 63, was a good example herself.

She was an ordinary horticulture technician in central Henan Province back in the early 1980s. Over the past two decades, she has held positions as a gardening researcher, the vice head of an agricultural science institute, the vice secretary of the Party Committee in Henan, and the vice director of the Organization Department of the Communist Party.

Today, Huang is also the vice chairperson of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council and a member of the CPC Central Committee.

The National People Congress is also expected to enroll more female lawmakers during its five-year reshuffle in 2008, in a bid to ensure that men do not take up more than 78 percent of the nearly 3,000 seats available at the top legislature, Huang said.

In addition to political rights, women in China have made inroads into the problem of employment discrimination. Currently 45 percent of China's working population are female, with more than 4 million women living in rural areas being lifted out of destitution, Huang said.

"However, Chinese women still face some difficulties. Their quality of life still varies between the cities and the rural areas and among regions," Huang added.

Huang said that China's efforts in promoting women's development and safeguarding their rights were recognized by the United Nations.

Source: Xinhua