Chinese women hold up half of the sky
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-25 08:41

Women and poverty elimination

To alleviate and eliminate poverty is a goal that the Chinese Government is determined to realize. With the implementation of large-scale and effective special poverty-reduction development programmes, the government has succeeded in reducing the poverty-stricken rural population, the majority of whom are women, by 53.9 million - from 80 million in 1994 to 26.1 million in 2004.

In recent years, thanks to the support and initiative of the Chinese Government, women's federations at all levels have launched, in view of local conditions, the "Poverty-Reduction Action for Women" with provision of small-sum credit loans, poverty elimination group by group, labour export, pairing-off assistance and mutual help between the eastern and western parts of the country as the main contents.

Women's ability to be involved in the management of State and social affairs has been constantly strengthened, and their ability in handling political affairs has gradually enhanced. China's Constitution clearly stipulates the basic principle that men and women have equal political rights. The Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women has made further stipulations to ensure that women can participate in decision-making and management.

The people's congress system is a fundamental political system in China, and the State pays great attention to the important role played by women in the people's congresses at all levels. The Election Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses at All Levels of the People's Republic of China, promulgated in 1995, stipulates that deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and local people's congresses at all levels should include appropriate numbers of women, and the proportion of women deputies should be increased step by step. In the past decade, women have displayed great enthusiasm for participating in electing deputies to the people's congresses at all levels and exercising their democratic rights. Some 73.4 per cent of women turned out to elect deputies to local people's congresses. Of all the deputies to the previous National People's Congresses, more than 20 per cent were women. The proportion of women among the deputies to the Tenth National People's Congress is 20.2 per cent; and women members account for 13.2 per cent of all members of the Standing Committee of the NPC, an increase of 0.5 percentage point over the previous national congress. Moreover, three of the vice-chairpersons of the NPC's Standing Committee are women.

The system of multi-party co-operation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a basic political system in China. The CPC is the ruling party, while all other political parties are participants in State affairs. They are allies working closely with the CPC. Women account for a certain number of CPC members. In 2004, female membership of the CPC was 12.956 million, accounting for 18.6 per cent of all CPC members, an increase of 3 percentage points over 1995. Women deputies accounted for 18 per cent of all deputies to the 16th CPC National Congress, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the previous congress. Of the members of the 16th Central Committee of the CPC, 7.6 per cent are women (as either members or alternate members), an increase of 0.3 percentage point over the previous congress. Female membership is relatively high in the eight democratic parties, exceeding 30 per cent in seven of them. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an important organ of the multi-party co-operation and political consultation system under the leadership of the CPC. At present, four of the vice-chairpersons of the National Committee of the CPPCC are women. Women members and women Standing Committee members of the first conference of the Tenth National Congress of the CPPCC accounted for 16.7 and 11.7 per cent, up 1.2 percentage points and 1.7 percentage points over the first conference of the previous congress.

At present, China has one woman vice-premier and one woman State councillor on the State Council, and 25 women incumbent vice-ministers or ministerial-level directors or heads in the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the ministries and commissions under the State Council.

The proportion of women civil servants recruited in 2003 nationwide was 27.8 per cent of the total; and that in the organs of the CPC Central Committee and central government was 37.7 per cent.

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