Women Hold up Half of the Sky

1950's New Marriage Law Cartoon Edition 

In 1950, the great socialist leader Mao Zedong put all his political weight behind a new marriage law. Women’s rights were for the first time recognized as being equal to the rights of men. The right to a divorce, abolition of concubinage, and the obligation of the man to pay child support were just some of the aspects that were now defined on paper. This law is often referred to as China’s first divorce law, but that is not entirely correct. Even during the dynasties you could get a divorce, but a woman would need extremely serious reasons - such as life-threatening domestic abuse - to obtain one, whilst a man could shed his vows much more easily.

Female Students marched inside the Forbidden City in early Republic

A new, more equal law had been discussed for years. Just after the last emperor abdicated in 1912, a heated discussion broke out and some Chinese suffragettes even turned to violence in their attempts to be heard. But standing up for womens rights was an almost unsurmountable battle in a patriarchal society that had no tradition of open discussion.

Propaganda documentary 《烟花女儿翻身记》from 1950

One of the greatest obstacles to abolishing concubinage for example had been that the most powerful people in China often themselves had several wives. The Nationalist party Goumindang never took a clear stand on the issue because of this internal dilemma, but by 1950 the nationalists had fled to Taiwan and the practice of taking plural wifes was completely outlawed on the mainland (but, interestingly, not in British controlled Hong Kong - here, laws implemented during the Qing dynasty would allow men to take concubines all the way up to 1973).

A picture from 1950 shows the new equal standing of women in new China

There is no denying that 1950 was a watershed moment for women’s rights. The new law was not only put into words but implemented through campaigns all over the country. However, 1000-year-old practices are difficult to eradicate, and even today there is plenty left to fight for.