China has amended laws and regulations to accelerate gender equality and the overall development of women in the country with the aim to further improve women’s welfare and rights.
Deputies attending the National People’s Congress (NPC) annual session said the law would further guarantee women’s rights, as China’s first law against domestic violence came into effect earlier this March.
Sun Xiaomei, an NPC deputy who has long advocated for the law, applauded the legislation, saying that “women are the highest-risk group facing domestic violence.
“The law will better protect their rights.”
Riyangul Almire, a female deputy from the rural area of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, said that local women’s federations had been promoting the marriage law and anti-domestic violence law through various channels in different languages.
“With the protection of the law, women in rural areas feel safer than before,” she added.
As early as 1954, China’s constitution officially included women’s rights among the fundamental rights of citizens.
Later amendments further stipulated protection of women’s rights.
A specific law on women’s rights protection was also introduced.
The constitution and related laws had ensured the independent and inviolable status of women, granting them the same freedom and dignity that men enjoyed.
China’s practice had proved that the promotion of women’s participation in social and economic activities could effectively improve their social status and economic vitality.
Women’s participation in administration and discussion of state affairs was an important index to measure a country’s degree of humanity.
Since the establishment of the people’s congress system, the percentage of female deputies had been increasing.
According to released statistics, 23.4 per cent of the deputies are female in the 2016 session.
Their occupations included diplomats, Olympic champions, grassroots school principals, as well as farmers.
During the two sessions, Fu Ying, the NPC session spokeswoman, captured public attention once again.
As the first female spokesperson of the NPC session, Fu used to be China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Australia and the UK.
She said that the NPC and its standing committee would play significant roles in addressing the root causes of corruption and efforts would be placed on the amendments of administration supervision law this year.
Female delegates of the two sessions believed that the nation’s current focus on family values and education had added meaning to the roles of women, which would further advance women’s social progress. (People’s Daily/NAN)