Feminism in China dates to communist revolution but today activists feel squeezed by the state
- Decades after Mao said ‘women hold up half the sky’, groups seeking gender equality find the space for advocacy, discussion and protest is shrinking
- More highly educated Chinese women could give rise to a generation able to speak up and spark change, says professor
On a chilly Valentine’s Day morning in 2012, a huddle of about 10 young women make their way down Beijing’s northeast Second Ring Road.
Just south of Tiananmen Square, they come to a halt. Three of those fronting the group, their faces painted with red and purple bruises, shrug off their winter coats to reveal wedding gowns splattered with red.
“Love is not an excuse for violence!” the women chant loudly, the wind whipping at their hair.
Within minutes, the police arrive. Law enforcement officials tell the protesters they cannot gather there, but they plead and negotiate: “We will be fast; we are just taking some pictures here.”
The demonstration against domestic violence is finished in half an hour and the women hurry to the nearest railway station, feeling the eyes of the police on thier backs.