China set to pass tough law protecting women’s rights amid criticism of suppressing #MeToo movement

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BEIJING: China set to pass tough new law to protect women’s rights – eliminating discrimination against women at all levels – amid growing cases of domestic violence, sexual harassment and suppression of the movement #MeToo. The draft revision of the “Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women” was submitted for first reading on Monday to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the highest legislative assembly in China. The legislative move is another major overhaul of the law that was enacted nearly 30 years ago, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Often criticized as a stamp of approval from Parliament for systematically endorsing the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s proposals, the AFN is expected to pass the bill soon. The bill prohibits the use of superstitious and “mind-controlling” practices on women and prohibits employers from questioning applicants about their marital or pregnancy status as part of proposed changes to the existing women’s law. Employers would not be able to turn down female applications because of pregnancy or marital status under the bill, which also protects the wages and benefits of women who are pregnant or on maternity leave. The Communist Party-owned newspaper, Beijing News, reported that one example of practices considered mentally manipulative: “female character classes” should be banned under the revised law. In the past, such classes were frequent and aimed at using brainwashing methods to control women and make them feel inferior to their partners. Common rhetoric used included “don’t retaliate when beaten” and “don’t respond when reprimanded”. Women participating in these classes were also told that they should stay pure. , “as promiscuous women contract gangrene”. This is not the case ; Gangrene, the death of tissue due to a lack of blood supply, is usually caused by injury or infection, not sexual contact, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. The project also includes provisions relating to safeguarding the safety and human dignity of women. Harassment or harassment of women under the pretext of being in a relationship, or after the end of cohabitation or divorce is prohibited by the project, as well as the disclosure or dissemination of private personal information of women. The project also clarifies the joint duties of husband and wife in family life. Women have the right at the time of divorce to ask the husband to pay compensation if the wife has assumed more duties with regard to the upbringing of the child, care of the elderly and help. at the husband’s work, among others, according to the Xinhua report. The revised law comes amid a deeper discussion about domestic violence in China. In recent years, the debate over sexual harassment has also grown amid the “#MeToo” movement that began in China in 2018 when Luo Xixi, a former student at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, accused a teacher for sexually harassing her. He was fired by the university and since then scores of other women – from universities, NGOs, tech companies and the entertainment industry – have filed complaints, the Post reported. The latest #MeToo case involved Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai who disappeared after alleged on Chinese social media platform WeChat on November 17 that she was forced into sex by the former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, 75, after retiring from power in 2017 His explosive claim was erased from the social media site by Chinese censors within minutes. She subsequently appeared in official media videos amid international fury. No action was taken against Zhang either. In addition, the CCP has been criticized for promoting fewer women to higher positions of power. Bai Zhi, founder of the Inspection Squad for Workplace Gender Discrimination, which monitors Chinese job openings and workplaces, said the organization has encountered many egregious cases of gender discrimination. In 2019, the organization received 822 reports of gender discrimination in the workplace and reported at least 150 to labor authorities, according to a document Bai sent to the Post. They received responses to 79 of these reports. Bai said that even when the group reported cases of companies hiring only men, those companies did not admit that it was discrimination. “They don’t change their behavior – they say it’s because it’s specialist work,” she told the Post.

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