SPILLED WATER SHORTS

Twenty years ago in Beijing, the UN Commission declared, “Women’s rights are human rights.” Ironically, that message was censored in China before it ever reached the country’s 600 million women.

Now, another UN milestone, the Millennium Development Goals will reach their deadline in 2015. Representing one in five women in the world, Chinese women have the potential to lift the status of women on a global scale.

As human rights advocates assess gender equality in preparation for an agenda for 2015 and beyond, it has never been more important to ask: What is the status of women in China?

We have developed three, online exclusive, shorts as complimentary pieces to the SPILLED WATER feature under the “Women Defining their Worth” Campaign umbrella. 

An Interview with Wu Qing
Internationally renowned woman’s rights advocate and educator. Professor Wu Qing gives an overview of the progress of women in China. Her voice is passionate and honest, her courage in speaking truth to power is inspiring.

A Maid in Beijing
Recent statistics show that more than 20% of marriages end in divorce in China. Society doesn’t look upon divorced women kindly. They often suffer the loss of rights and benefits — even those of their children. Zhu Xiaoli gives voice to a contingent of single mothers who confront injustice with courage and resourcefulness.

A Dinner Conversation
The legacy of gender inequity crosses all walks of life. Here, we eavesdrop on a dinner party attended by some of the most successful and sophisticated women in Beijing. Their concerns about marriage, motherhood, careers, choices and success are not uniquely Chinese, but they provoke us to assess some of these issues.