20 dic 1949 anni - 1950 Marriage Law

Descrizione:

There was unequal treatment for women in China. Women were treated as second class citizens and property of men. Men often kept women as concubines.

1950 Marriage Law stated that:

- Arranged marriage was banned
- Minimum age for marriage was raised to 18 for women and 20 for men.
- Women given equal rights to request a divorce
- Women allowed to own property
- Infanticide was forbidden.

IMPACTS ON WOMEN:

- Marriage: Arranged marriages still continued, and women who divorced husbands were treated as outcasts. Cases of infanticide were reduced.
- Family life: Contraceptives started to be produced by China's largest pharmaceutical company, but there was resistance to birth control especially in rural ares.
- Economic role: Private property was outlawed in the campaign for collectivisation, so the rule didn't really matter, but more women did join the workforce.
- Political role: 1949-62, women's participation in politics rose - women were elected to comittes and co-operatives.