SK-II Help The 'Leftover Women' of China Stake Their Claim For Independence
#changedestiny from SK-II
The issue of tackling gender inequality is one that has spanned many generations. While we would like to think it is a problem that no longer exists in the modern world, scratching the surface reveals there is still much disparity between opportunities and pressures faced by men and women. Even in the UK we see women earning on average £300,000 less over their lifetime compared to their male counterparts, in a society where less than 20% of board directors in FTSE 100 companies are female, as are only 1 in 4 MPs.
The problem of course is not one that is experienced in the western world, and we perhaps have made more progress than some. One country where women are still under increased pressure to conform to what is seen as the social norm is China. Here women are still seen as being the ones to sacrifice their own careers, shy away from expression, and find a husband towards whom they are wholly dependent.
The latter point is perhaps the most pertinent following a new term which was coined by the All-China Womens Federation in 2007. The term 'Sheng Nu', which directly translated means leftover woman, is targeted towards women who remain unmarried by the age of 25. It was an attempt to counteract the trend of Chinas women prioritising their own independence above seeking a man to marry.
The pressure to marry is illustrated no way better than in the many marriage markets still take place across larger cities. These markets see hundreds of parents arrive to post personal ads for their daughters. Ultimately intending to promote skills, characteristics, and values held by their children in the hope to attract a partner, parents can often be seen comparing the different placements to see how their own daughters stack up.
A fight back has begun in China however, and single women are starting to be more vocal towards the right in determining their own futures. One such statement can be seen in the video above where swaths of single women recently attended one of the countrys marriage markets to give it an inspirational makeover. In place of the usual ads, the women posted their own personal messages of why they were proud to be individuals, to be forging their own lives, and marrying only when it is something they want to do.
The film shows that far from being leftover woman, these people are strong and determined individuals who are fighting hard to remove stigmas that are ingrained within not just China, but around the world.
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