Relevance of March 8 now lost on many

(CHINADAILY)TherelevanceofMarch8isnowlostonmany,feministssay

AtopictogainmildtractiononChinesesocialmediaearlierinthemonthwas"Happy3.8".

WhilesomewomenandmensimplypostedgreetingsonInternationalWomen'sDay,agoodnumberofrelatedmessagescamefromvendorsofclothing,makeupandconfectionery.

March8seemedlikeagooddayforbusiness.

Bornoutofmovementsagainstinjusticemorethanacenturyago,theday'soriginalmeaningisnowlostonmany,feministsfromChinaandabroad,say.

Aworlddayformenisalsocelebratedeachyearsincethe1990s.ButNov19isn'tasmarkedinsignificance.

"Forfeministsorwomen(inChina)whounderstandthehistoryofMarch8,thedayisasymbolofwomen'srights,ofequalrights,butformostothersitiscommercialized－adaytodosomeshopping,"saysFengYuan,co-founderofEquality,aChineseNGO.

SimilarinferencescanbedrawnaboutothercountrieswhilesearchingtheWeb.

AtatimewhentheworldisstunnedbyreportsofbrutalityagainstwomenbymilitantsoftheIslamicStateandBokoHaram,inSyriaandNigeriarespectively,andwhengenderdiscriminationexistsinviolentandnon-violentformselsewhere,Women'sDaycannotbeseenjustasamilestoneforthe"sisterhoodofshrillvoices",feministssay.

And,thepoliticallabelthatwasusedagainst19th-centuryfeministsintheWesthasn'tgoneaway.

Inlargepartsoftheworld,thefeministstereotypeeventodayisofanangrymiddle-classwomanwithahigh-pitchedvoice.Butmenalonearen'tpromotingthatimage.

"ManywomeninAustraliadon'twanttocallthemselvesfeministsbecausetheythinkit'sadirtyword,itshowsaggressivebehavior,butthesearetheverysamewomenwhohavereapedtherewardsofthefeministmovement,"AustralianscholarClareWrighttoldheraudienceattheBookwormLiteraryFestivalinBeijinglastweekend.

InhisMarch8interactionswithsomedeputiestotheNationalPeople'sCongressinBeijing,PresidentXiJinpingsaidthatChinaneededthecontributionsofwomenmoresonow.

HarryPorteractressEmmaWatsontoldagender-artsforuminNewYorkthatifwomendonotcontinuetostruggleforequalrightsandopportunities,itwouldtakedecadesbeforethepaygapbasedongenderisbridged.Makingherstatementonthatday,RanjeetRajan,afederallawmakerinNewDelhi,rodeonaHarleyDavidsontoparliament.

Socialexpectations

InChina,feminism'shistoryisrelativelynew,owingpartlytothecountry'soccupationwithwarsearlier.Activistsstartedtonoticeablysurfaceafter1995.Thatyear,aUnitedNations'conferencewasheldinBeijingdefiningwomen'srightsworldwideandfieryspeechesweremadebyattendees,includingnowUSpresidentialhopefulHillaryClinton.

Grassrootsorganizationsforwomenappearedinthecountryaround2000.

"AfterNewChinawasformedin1949,women'sliberationwashelpedbygovernmentundertheidealsofsocialism,"saysLiDan,director,CrossroadsCentre,aChineseNGO.

ButwhileChinesewomenhavebecomemuchmoreopenabouttheirsexualityinrecentyearsandareincreasinglyassertiveindealingwitheverydayissuesatworkorhome,theirrepresentationinpopularcultureisstillshapedbythemaleview,whichisoftendogmaticandconservative.

"InmoviesandonTV,youwillseewomenlongingonlyforloveandmarriage－everythingthatattachesthemtomen,"Lisays.

ForBeijing-basedartistWangYanyun,manyyoungChinesewomenstruggletobreakfreefromsocialexpectationssurroundingappearanceandstatus.

"Somewomenfeeltheycanearnrespectbymarryingawealthymanorgettinganosejobdone."The25-year-olddescribessuchnotionsas"short-sighted".

Wangheldasoloexhibitionofherwork,Ink,atthecity's798artspacein2011.ItinvolvedpaintinginChinesecharactersgenderslursonhernudebodytomakeherpoint:womentaintedbythebiasestheyface.

OnMarch7,universitycampusesinthecountrycelebrated"girls'day"withthedisplayofromanticmessages,anannualChinesecollegeritualsincethe1980s."Yourmagnesiumstealsmyzinc,"readabanneratBejingUniversityofAeronauticsandAstronautics.Butthisyear,notallbannerswerecuteorclever.

"Itshowsdeep-rootedmalechauvinism,"saysZhangLijia,theauthorofSocialismIsGreat,ofsomebannersthatattractedonlineirkfortheiruseofstronglanguage.

OthersseethesexistremarksasabacklashfortheeconomicprogressChinesewomenhavemadeinthepastfewdecades.

Zhang,whoworkedataNanjingfactoryforadecadeinsouthernChinabeforetakingupfull-timewriting,hashighlightedhowwomenborethebruntoflay-offsinthepast.ShesupportsincreasingfemaleretirementageinChinafromthepresentaverageof55years,shesays.Herfirstnovel,basedonprostitution,isexpectedtobeoutsoon.

Chinagetsnewlaw

OnMarch1,Chinagotitsfirstanti-domesticviolencelaw,whichisameasurelongawaitedbygovernmentagencyAllChinaWomen'sFederationandprivateactivists.AccordingtoACWF,oneinfourmarriedChinesewomensuffersabuseathome.Inrecentyears,someyoungfeministshavealsotriedtoraisepublicawarenessontheissuebyperformingstunts.

Thenewlawclarifiesthat"beating,restraint,injuryorforciblelimitsonphysicallibertyconstitutedomesticviolence,"SuHuang,ajudgeatBeijing'sHaidiandistrictcourt,toldChinaDailyinanearlierinterview.

Wang,theartist,saystheDomesticViolenceActshows"officialacknowledgement"oftheseriousnessoftheproblem.

"Changingsocialviewsontheissuewillalsoneedthesupportofmedia,"shesays.

AtaBeijingconferencehostedbyACWFinJanuary,delegatesspokeoftheneedtotrainpeopleatlowerlevelsofgovernmenttohelpimplementthelaw.

Inthedaysahead,ACWFwilllikelystudydatafrompolice,courtsandwomen'srightsgroupstofindoutifreportingofsuchcaseshasgoneup.Withmorewomennowawareoftheirrightsanddomesticviolencenolongerinthe"private-matter"realm,ariseinreportingcanbeexpected,saysanagencysourcewhoisn'tauthorizedtotalktomedia.

Callingthenewlaw"practical,"Feng,theveteranfeminist,sayspolicecanwarntheperpetrators,courtscanissueinjunctionsandtheviolationofcriminallawswillattractdifferentpunishments.Inaddition,communitycommitteesandemployerscanshamepeopleagainstwhomcomplaintsarebrought.Thelawextendstocohabitation.

"Butitdoesnotmentionsexualassaultexplicitly,"shesays,addingthatthereisneedforclarityoneconomicabuse,controlandexploitation.

Itcoversmenwhofacedomesticviolenceaswell,althoughfeministssaythenumbersarepossiblymuchlower.

Sofar,thereislittledatatocompareprevalenceofdomesticviolencecasesindifferentprovincesandregionsofChina,Fengsays.Butavailablestatisticssuggestvillagesareslightlymorevulnerablethanthecities.

Alleyesarenowsetonthenewlaw'simplementation.

"Wewillhavetoseehowdifferentdepartmentsofthegovernmentandthejudicialdepartmenthandlesuchcasestoeffectivelystopdomesticviolenceagainstwomen."