Divorced Chinese women stare death in the face to regain control of their lives
Participants lie in shallow pits to contemplate that their lives are precious after all
A divorcee in southwest China has started a down-to-earth movement that helps women recover from failed marriages by lying in mock graves to combat suicidal thoughts as they recover from their heartbreak, a national newspaper reported.
On a hillside in Chongqing on Monday, 13 women took turns to lie in freshly dug pits as part of the “grave classroom” programme. Plagued by depression, the women lie in the pits as they contemplate life and death on the path to regaining their strength, according to the China Youth Daily.
Liu Taijie, the group’s founder, said that after her divorce she lost hope and attempted suicide but managed to pull herself together by changing her perspective on life and death.
“I was abandoned by my husband. I was despised by my family. I was deceived by a pyramid selling scam. I wanted to die,” she said in a video published by People’s Daily.
The 30-year-old said was married at 19, became a mother at 21 and was abused by her husband at 27 after the failure a business she started, which led to her divorce.
She said she wallowed in sorrow for more than a year before she started feeling positive about life again. Her programme aims to allow divorcees to confront death head-on and remind them that there are plenty of opportunities left in the world to accomplish.
“Tears are useless. Death cannot solve problems. I want to change, and use that experience to help other women,” she said. And, once she got over her past, she shed more than 30kg in weight and now runs a successful business.
Liu will hold the “grave classroom” once every two months and is free of charge for whoever needs it.
“Failure is not scary,” she said. “I hope all divorced women can lead new lives and accomplish their own goals. Women must rely on themselves and be their own queens.”
