The suits were sharp, the speeches were well-delivered, but there was one thing missing when China’s all-powerful Standing Committee was revealed last week – women.
rior to the announcement hopes had been pinned on the inclusion of 67-year-old Liu Yandong. These hopes were quickly dashed. Instead the Committee remained an all boys’ club and even shrunk from nine members to seven.
Liu did make the cut to the 18-member Politburo though, the next big policy body in the CPC, alongside another female, Sun Chanlan.
Two women. That is certainly better than no women, not least when judged against prior leadership handovers. The last time any were included in the Politburo was during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), in the form of the wives of Chairman Mao and Lin Biao. But it is hardly anything to shout about, especially for a country founded on the Maoist principle that women hold up half the sky.
Yet it is not wholly surprising and instead reveals some of the inherent contradictions that ripple through Chinese society today. Despite the country’s rush towards modernity, not all is new, not least when it comes to ideas about gender. Hence the occurrence of female infanticide, which is provoked by a perception that sons bring greater fortune to families than daughters. As a result of this phenomenom, and the infamous one child policy, modern China is now facing an unbalanced population, with many men resorting to looking abroad for spouses, a practice which itself fans issues such as trafficking and forced marriage.
More commonplace is pressure for women to conform to traditional roles of wife and mother. Home maker is deemed more ‘feminine’ and thus more desirable than policy maker.
Add to this a historical legacy that distrusts women at the top. The list of powerful females is short and includes Cixi, the Qing Empire (1644-1911) ruler who was nicknamed “The Dragon Empress”, and Madame Mao, a Gang of Four member accused of masterminding China’s tragic Cultural Revolution.
Simply put, throwing a hat into the political ring is not easy for women, nor is it always well-received.
This is not to deny gender progress in China. Gone are the days when females were incarcerated in the home, immobilized by bound feet and an elaborate system of nei (inner) and wai (outer) that kept them firmly away from public life. Now they flood the universities and the workforce, enjoying many of the same benefits as their male counterparts.
These seven men will rule for the next 10 years. Let’s hope that when they step down, at least one woman will be stepping up to take a place.
However, as the Standing Committee reveals, when it comes to positive political influence there is still a long way to go. These seven men will rule for the next 10 years. Let’s hope that when they step down, at least one woman will be stepping up to take a place.
By Jemimah Steinfeld
