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Mao’s Domestic Policies – Part 2. Role of Women in Communist China. In pre-communist China, women were: Considered inferior to men Excluded from political life Robbed of property and inheritance rights
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Role of Women in Communist China • In pre-communist China, women were: • Considered inferior to men • Excluded from political life • Robbed of property and inheritance rights • Forced to obey their fathers before marriage, their husbands after marriage, and their sons if they became widowed • Deprived of the right to receive an education and take part in social activities • Matched with a mate and were not allowed to remarry if their spouse died • Subjected to polygamy and prostitution • Subjected to “foot binding”
Role of Women in Communist China • In war by Japan against China from 1937-1945, most of the over 30 million Chinese who were brutally killed were women and children. Within a month after the Japanese troops occupied Nanking, they committed over 20,000 rapes • For the women of China, the founding of the People's Republic of China ended the thousands of years of feudal oppression and enslavement
Role of Women in Communist China • After the founding of Communist China, there was a movement throughout the country to quickly change the customs that discriminated against and humiliated women • This effected an earth-shaking historic change in the social status and condition of women • In 1949, The Common Program was adopted (like a constitution) • It ended the feudal system and stated that women enjoyed equal rights with men in the political, economic, cultural and educational fields and in other aspects of social life
Role of Women in Communist China • Ban on prostitution – • In 1949, the municipal government of Beijing immediately: • Closed all brothels • Gathered prostitutes in designated places where they could be educated and reformed • Receive treatment for venereal diseases • Be provided with guidance to help women start normal lives and support themselves through work • Most other areas of China followed suit
Role of Women in Communist China • In 1950, The Marriage Law declared the abolition of the feudal marriage system characterized by arranged and forced marriage, male superiority and female inferiority, and disregard for the interests of children • Following months of publicity of the new law, this action resulted in the annulment of numerous feudal engagements, a rapid reduction in domestic abuse and maltreatment, and an increase in freely chosen love marriages
Role of Women in Communist China • Land reform – Rural women obtained land, just like their male counterparts, and became masters of their piece of soil • Universal balloting – In 1953, The Electoral Law of the People's Republic of China stipulated that women enjoy the same rights to vote and stand for election as men • The move out of the home – In 1957, around 70 percent of rural women engaged in agricultural work, and the number of urban women workers and staff reached 3.286 million, representing a 5.5-fold increase over 1949
Role of Women in Communist China • Illiteracy eradication campaign – Various literacy classes, popular evening schools and workers' spare-time schools mushroomed in both rural and urban areas, and women attended these in their millions. By 1958, 16 million women had learned to read
Treatment of Religious Groups • Mao was concerned about the Vatican, especially its ability to command allegiance beyond national boundaries • He used a fake assassination plot to take over all Catholic institutions • A smear campaign accused Catholic priests and nuns of murder, cannibalism, and medical experiments on babies • Hundreds of Chinese Catholics were executed and many foreign priests suffered physical abuse • In general, religious and quasi-religious organizations were suppressed or brought under tight control
Treatment of Minorities • Order-Keeping Committees were formed everywhere • They kept an eye on everyone, not just political suspects and petty criminals • The regime also gave everyone a fixed job and place of residence • He intended most of the population, even women and children, to witness violence and killing to scare the population
Treatment of Minorities • Laogai – means reform through labor • Back-breaking labor in the most hostile wastelands and down the most contaminating mines, while being harassed incessantly • Many were executed and some committed suicide
Treatment of Minorities • Three-Antis (1951) & Five-Antis (1952) • Hundred Flowers Campaign (1957) • Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957 & 1959) • The Cultural Revolution (1966–76)
Treatment of Minorities • Purges from 1949-1959 (2 million died); Cultural Revolution (1 mil died); Laogoi – forced labor camps (20 mil died); Great Leap Forward – forced collectivization (30-40 mil) • Millions were injured • Many committed suicide • Many suffered torture and physical/emotional abuse
Party leaders accused of supporting capitalism are first put on public display, and then are executed
Mass executions and the parading of those due to be killed through the streets have been methods employed since the earliest days of communist China
