In the equal opportunity and politically correct land I’m from saying anything anti-feminist could well get you lynched. In China, however, it seems to be a different story. Girl Power here revolves around helping more women become housewives - or at least that was the story on the news this morning.
Avid readers of the blog will recall an entry from India where I discussed the jobs and low pay endured by the females in the lower castes of Indian society. In developing countries everyone has to pitch in and earn their keep. I guess as the society progresses more people are able to break out of the cycle, first starting with children and later women. In India I didn’t see many children working but I did see a lot of women performing hard, gruelling tasks and often with a young child strapped to her hip. In these jobs they are paid pitifully low wages and are deemed inferior to men.
In contrast it is interesting to study the changes that rapid development has brought in China. As wages rise more and more couples are able to survive with only one income. According to the news story a survey 10 years ago indicated that only 45% of woman desired to be housewives. Now, however, this figure has jumped to a whopping 60% who intend on never working.
Many of the woman interviewed said they wanted to become a housewife because they felt it would elevate their status in society. In their eyes being a housewife meant they would be on a par to their husbands and would become equals, unlike the woman forced to work in a poor job.
It’ll be interesting to see what the survey says in 10 years time from now. I wonder whether things will have around turned again and women will be striving for well paid jobs equivalent to their male counterparts as they do in the UK. Only time will tell I guess.