An affront to women

The recent draft regulation on population and family planning management prepared by the Wuhan local government in Hubei province, proposes to impose fines on unmarried mothers, sparking a heated public debate. An article on gmw.cn asks whether such measures are against relevant laws and whether they should be applied against such so-called offenses? Excerpts:

Although the purpose of imposing high "social compensation fees" is aimed at deterring couples from having a second child, the punitive measure has not prevented rich people from violating family planning norms. So to prevent couples from breaking the family planning policy, local governments should educate couples to adopt contraceptive measures.

As far as the Wuhan draft regulation is concerned, the father and mother are equally responsible for the birth of a child. Even if an unmarried woman has an affair with a married man and gives birth to a child, the man should be held equally responsible for flouting family planning norms. The father of the child should be punished according to the law for violating the family planning policy instead of forcing the mother to pay a hefty fine.

An unmarried woman who gives birth to a child should not be treated as a criminal. Since society today is open enough to accept "double-income, no-kid" families, there is no reason to discriminate against unwed mothers.

Punishing an unmarried woman for giving birth to a child, as the draft regulation advocates, is against the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women. The measures proposed in the draft regulation are immature and could lead to public discontent and social problems. Therefore, such regulations should not be passed in haste.

Gender disparity a big concern

The rising number sexual assaults on girl students in schools have triggered a heated discussion on teachers' professional ethics. An article in Southern Metropolis Daily asks whether the gender crisis in Chinese society is to blame for the increase in sexual abuse in schools. Excerpts:

Violation of women's rights is at the root of the sexual assaults on women. The impact of advertisements, the Internet and the media are also responsible for the rising incidences of sexual attacks on women and girls.

Chinese society is still patriarchal, and this is primarily to be blamed for the gender crisis in the country. Couples yearn for a male child because women are still considered inferior to men in China. As a result, China's gender ratio is among the most skewed in the world. It is estimated that by 2020, China will have 30 to 40 million unwed men, which could lead to serious social problems.

Affluent, politically successful, well-known and highly educated men are quite popular in the "marriage market", while those at the grassroots level, especially in rural and underdeveloped areas, are considered unsuitable. This makes things difficult for not-so-well-off men to find a life partner and leads to social tension.

There is still great disparity between Chinese men and women when it comes to income, labor division, resource sharing and participation in politics. And with commercialization and the increasing portrayal of women as objects in many advertisements and events, men have started seeing them as soft targets to satisfy their lust. We still have a long way to go before establishing real gender equality and giving women their rightful place in society.

(China Daily USA 06/05/2013 page12)