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Where do women belong?
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JUST before Women's Day, Wang Xiancai, a male member of the Ninth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), voiced his views on women's issues at the fourth meeting of the Conference: women with low salaries should be encouraged to return home to take care of the kids and do the housework. Their work at home, meanwhile, should be acknowledged and given equal esteem and social status. Wang's statement sparked raucous debate among CPPCC members and the general public. It comes at a time when women have spent years redefining their role in society, even as many people in China are questioning that new role. Should women be in the kitchen or the boardroom? We asked some Shenzheners for their opinions.
Wang Xiancai, male, initiator, member of the ninth CPPCC
I hope everyone will consider what on earth gender equality is, and what the essence of equality is. To encourage women to return home, in my point of view, does not mean inequity. Most women are good at housework and nurturing kids. If a woman earns only a small salary for her job, and if her husband earns enough for the household's expenditure, why does she have to keep her job? Nurturing and educating the kids, as well as making their home clean and comfortable are also honorable tasks for women. I wonder why housework, to a wife, is regarded an indignity while for a housemaid it is nothing of the kind.
Wang Yuyu, female, member of the ninth CPPCC
Women will lose all their rights without property rights. If women stay home depending on their husbands instead of making their own money, many of them will be maltreated by men. We all know about women who marry wealthy men. They stay home, taking care of their husbands and kids. Many of these dependant women, as I have heard, can not win esteem from their husbands.
Zhu Tianhui, female, member of the ninth CPPCC
I agreed the view of Mr Wang Xiancai. Undoubtedly It will be good for a family, especially for the kids. In modern society, housework is very important to every family. We encourage wives to do the housework if they like doing the housework. On the other hand, we should take some measures to guarantee their property rights.
But not all women should return home. Those who are well-educated and those who have the ability in their career should not leave. And if we make a relative policy, it should be committed step by step.
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