https://www.scmp.com/rss/331028/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang I heard an audible gasp in the audience, just as a gynaecologist on the movie screen tries to shove a speculum – a hollow cylinder used to open up a woman’s cervix – into the lower body of the protagonist. The film’s main character, a 25-year-old woman named Xu Ke, grimaces in pain. “Relax,” the gynaecologist says, but her tone and hand movements are anything but relaxing. After a sudden shove, Xu feels the pain, wriggles off the examination table and falls to the floor. The scene from the drama... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3349986/voicing-their-needs-chinese-women-are-normalising-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3349986/voicing-their-needs-chinese-women-are-normalising-them?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 01:30:11 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang For 11 years after graduating from high school, a 28-year-old woman from a village in Lushan county in the central Chinese province of Henan had fought against pressure from her parents to get married. By her own account, the woman, locally reported as Wei and a history teacher at Lushan’s top high school, had quarrelled, “gone crazy” and even made threats with a knife. Her fight ended on December 10, when she wrote her last post on WeChat and jumped from the seventh floor of what was to be her... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3340590/china-pressure-women-marry-deadly-serious?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3340590/china-pressure-women-marry-deadly-serious?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Audrey Jiajia Li Audrey Jiajia Li In China, girls are taught early to be “appropriate” – to listen, not lead; to speak gently, not loudly. We grow up believing that quietness is likeability, and likeability is safety. But something is shifting. When Chinese writer Jiang Fangzhou said to me during a recent interview, “I can’t be waiting for some influential man to say, ‘I’ll give you an hour to talk about literature’. You can’t be waiting for a seat, for a microphone”, it struck a chord far beyond us. It was a generational... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334195/why-chinese-women-me-are-done-being-quiet-and-appropriate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334195/why-chinese-women-me-are-done-being-quiet-and-appropriate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen More than a century ago, the world of Chinese women was a private one. Bound by a rigid patriarchal order and Confucian codes of propriety, hierarchy and submission, they were confined to the inner chambers of the home to be virtuous wives, self-sacrificing mothers and dutiful daughters, while men ruled the outer world. That began to change in the May Fourth era early in the 20th century, which marked a period of unprecedented intellectual and cultural awakening in modern China. Reformers sought... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3331206/we-have-new-women-no-new-men-feminist-evolution-unfinished-china-scholar-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3331206/we-have-new-women-no-new-men-feminist-evolution-unfinished-china-scholar-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Nov 2025 04:01:55 +0000 Aaina Bhargava Aaina Bhargava Ewa Partum would have you believe that she’s a stupid woman, or at least guilty of what 1980s Polish society deemed frivolous female behaviour. Dressed in nothing but high heels, red lipstick and a string of light bulbs, the artist would enact the trope of a silly drunken woman in front of a scandalised audience in 1981 – running around and dancing, flirting with men, giggling, pretending to stumble and fall. An image from this performance was captured and set in a light box. It’s currently in... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3329417/outrageous-subversive-often-nude-ewa-partums-art-arrives-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3329417/outrageous-subversive-often-nude-ewa-partums-art-arrives-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:15:08 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged US$110 million for female empowerment worldwide as the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women got under way in Beijing on Monday. The two-day event co-hosted by China and UN Women commemorates the 30th anniversary of the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in the Chinese capital. The 1995 conference, where 189 countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, is widely regarded as a global turning point for gender... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3328833/chinas-xi-pledges-us110-million-womens-empowerment-beijing-hosts-global-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3328833/chinas-xi-pledges-us110-million-womens-empowerment-beijing-hosts-global-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 11:08:18 +0000 When it comes to women’s changing roles in society, China has much to be proud of. The stories of my family – my grandmother, a one-time prostitute; my mother, a lifelong factory worker; and myself, a writer – bear witness to Chinese women’s progress. Women of my grandmother’s generation endured harsh lives, but she suffered more than most. Born in Zhenjiang, an ancient city on the bank of the Yangtze River, she lost her parents to famine as a child and was taken in by her aunt, basically as a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3301243/how-far-chinese-women-have-come-my-grandmothers-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3301243/how-far-chinese-women-have-come-my-grandmothers-time?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Mar 2025 01:30:07 +0000 Last week, a friend suggested something unexpected: “Why not invite our husbands to see the Chinese feminist movie Her Story?” Everyone agreed and we watched the film as a group. Afterwards, we discussed the movie as men and women sharing perspectives, in a way I had rarely experienced before. Throughout my 26 years in China, open discussions about gender that involve both men and women have been nearly nonexistent. The only other time I had a real conversation like this was, unexpectedly, with... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3296386/chinas-gender-conservations-must-go-offline-empower-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3296386/chinas-gender-conservations-must-go-offline-empower-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2025 01:30:08 +0000 True to style, Taiwanese romance novelist Chiung Yao insisted on going to her death “gracefully”. Her farewell letter was an ode to female independence, autonomy and freedom. While some expressed respect for this ultimate act of self-determination and others admired the consistency of her ideals, what struck me the most was the realisation that the era in which love reigned supreme had definitively ended. In the 1980s and 1990s, reading Chiung Yao’s novels was a rite of passage. Her television... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3290558/death-romance-novelist-chiung-yao-strikes-chord-womens-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3290558/death-romance-novelist-chiung-yao-strikes-chord-womens-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2024 01:30:09 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu A live-streamer in China mimicked national track and field athlete Wu Yanni and performed provocative dances for profit, sparking a heated online debate. Videos by Douyin influencer @xiaoyu, a key opinion leader (KOL) who has over 4,000 followers, went viral and topped the Weibo trending list on December 5. The controversial videos feature her wearing make-up and styling her hair to resemble Wu, dressed in sportswear, and copying Wu’s signature gestures, such as pointing skyward before starting... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3289916/china-kol-mimics-athlete-sexy-video-igniting-debate-over-objectification-sportswomen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3289916/china-kol-mimics-athlete-sexy-video-igniting-debate-over-objectification-sportswomen?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Dec 2024 06:00:09 +0000 One night, Caicai suddenly had her period. It was late and all the shops near her home had closed, so she had to order sanitary pads through a courier service. When the courier, a man, called her from a shop, he sounded embarrassed as he whispered, “Hello beautiful, did you want … that thing?” Caicai whispered back, “Yes, I want that thing.” They went on to discuss the different brands and functions of sanitary products in the same hush-hush manner, as if they were buying narcotics on the black... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3279833/why-chinas-women-are-talking-back-never?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3279833/why-chinas-women-are-talking-back-never?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Sep 2024 01:30:07 +0000 After I turned 20, Nai, my maternal grandma, started to read me the matrimonial advertisements in our local newspapers. One typical ad would go: “So-and-so, male, 27-year-old teacher, 1.73m, university degree with a monthly income of almost 1,000 yuan, looking for an attractive girl, medium height, between 21 and 25.” For her, my single status was a rash, getting itchier with every year as she fretted that I would miss the marriage boat. My mother, subtler, would urge me to try harder in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3273449/put-ring-it-chinese-women-dont-need-marriage-any-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3273449/put-ring-it-chinese-women-dont-need-marriage-any-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Aug 2024 01:15:09 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang A Japanese television news anchor was dismissed from her job and faced an online backlash after a controversial post in which she claimed that men’s body odour was “hard to endure”, and suggested they shower more often. Tokyo-based Yuri Kawaguchi, 29, is a freelance announcer known for her feminist views, who also works as a lecturer for harassment prevention training. On August 8, she took to X social networking platform, where she has about 13,000 followers, to voice her frustrations about... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3275405/feminist-japan-tv-anchor-fired-raising-stink-over-hard-endure-mens-body-odour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3275405/feminist-japan-tv-anchor-fired-raising-stink-over-hard-endure-mens-body-odour?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2024 01:11:30 +0000 Journalist and feminist activist Sophia Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison by a court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday in a case that feminists fear will have a chilling effect. Her friend, labour activist Wang Jianbing, who was charged in the same case, received a 3½ year sentence. Both Huang and Wang were found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power”, according to a part of the verdict obtained by the Post. The verdicts were handed down at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3266600/prominent-chinese-activists-sentenced-5-years-charges-inciting-subversion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3266600/prominent-chinese-activists-sentenced-5-years-charges-inciting-subversion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jun 2024 06:39:23 +0000 Gym junkie Zhang Ying once had membership cards for nearly every fitness club in Shenzhen, the economic and tech hub which neighbours Hong Kong in southern China. But none of them completely met her needs as a woman. Zhang, who used to exercise five times a week, told the South China Morning Post that the gyms had very few female trainers and the men did not understand women’s bodies or how they wanted to shape them. “Most of the gym members are men. If you have a good body and you walk into a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3255584/gyms-hostels-women-china-are-creating-female-friendly-spaces-growing-trend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3255584/gyms-hostels-women-china-are-creating-female-friendly-spaces-growing-trend?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Mar 2024 12:58:26 +0000 In one of the most brutal murders disclosed by the Shenzhen legal authorities last year, 19-year-old Xiaomin lost her life over just 55,000 yuan (US$7,600). She was stabbed to death by her ex-fiancé Ah Jin in a dispute involving the Chinese custom of a betrothal gift, or “bride price”. The two were engaged and Ah Jin paid Xiaomin’s mother the money, promising to get married once Xiaomin reached the legal marrying age of 20. But, after spending time with each other’s families, the young couple... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249687/blaming-chinas-women-high-bride-prices-not-how-promote-marriage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249687/blaming-chinas-women-high-bride-prices-not-how-promote-marriage?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:30:10 +0000 China’s top official on women’s affairs has pledged to promote women’s role in the family and has offered guidance for younger generations on marriage and relationships. Shen Yiqin, state councillor and newly elected president of the All-China Women’s Federation, wrote in Qiushi, the Communist Party’s top theoretical journal, on Thursday that women must contribute to the “great cause of national rejuvenation and demonstrate the power of half the sky”. “Women hold up half the sky” is a famous... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3241740/chinas-top-women-affairs-official-vows-promote-marriage-and-family-harness-power-half-sky?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3241740/chinas-top-women-affairs-official-vows-promote-marriage-and-family-harness-power-half-sky?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Nov 2023 06:47:53 +0000 Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have noticed that the world has been gripped by Barbiemania, fuelled by the film starring Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ryan Gosling as Ken. It has been a huge hit: Barbie is the highest-grossing Warner Bros movie of all time, making more than US$1.34 billion globally so far. Barbie packs some girl-power punch: Greta Gerwig is the first woman to independently direct a billion-dollar movie, while Robbie was reportedly paid US$12.5... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3233314/barbie-movies-message-about-diversity-and-inclusion-discuss-hong-kong-feminist-forum-unpacks-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3233314/barbie-movies-message-about-diversity-and-inclusion-discuss-hong-kong-feminist-forum-unpacks-its?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Sep 2023 08:15:08 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. I refer to your article, “How Barbie is reigniting discussion in China about feminism and women’s rights” (July 30). I am delighted that the film is sparking conversations about feminism, which... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3230010/why-chinese-men-neednt-be-put-barbie-and-feminism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3230010/why-chinese-men-neednt-be-put-barbie-and-feminism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Aug 2023 03:30:16 +0000 Hollywood’s latest comedy Barbie has stirred up a rare wave of discussion about women’s rights in China. Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the film tells the story of dolls Barbie and Ken as they leave Barbie Land and travel to the real world on a journey of self-discovery. Among other things, the movie pokes fun at the huge gap between Barbie Land, where women fill all the positions of power ranging from president, supreme court judges and top writers, to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3229238/how-barbie-reigniting-discussion-china-about-feminism-and-womens-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3229238/how-barbie-reigniting-discussion-china-about-feminism-and-womens-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jul 2023 12:00:15 +0000 When US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrapped up her four-day visit to Beijing earlier this month, there was little public mention of the all-male line-up of the Chinese officials in her working meetings. But when she hosted a lunch with a handful of Chinese women economists and entrepreneurs, China’s social media came alive, accusing the attendees of treason for meeting Yellen and labelling them “radical feminists”. According to the US Treasury Department, the women discussed the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3228360/how-janet-yellens-womens-power-lunch-exposed-chinas-divide-over-womens-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3228360/how-janet-yellens-womens-power-lunch-exposed-chinas-divide-over-womens-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jul 2023 14:30:09 +0000 Olivia Cotes-James founded one of Hong Kong’s first femtech companies, Luüna Naturals, in 2019 after a decade of navigating troubling menstrual symptoms. After building her start-up into one of the city’s biggest femtech players, she turned her attention to eradicating period poverty – the lack of access to menstrual products – across Asia, work which in 2021 landed her on the Forbes 30 under 30. As an early-stage start-up, Cotes-James raised over US$1 million in seed funding between 2019 and... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3218991/hong-kong-based-femtech-founder-runs-thriving-start-luuna-naturals-fights-eradicate-period-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3218991/hong-kong-based-femtech-founder-runs-thriving-start-luuna-naturals-fights-eradicate-period-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 May 2023 06:30:16 +0000 Four years ago, when Dr Choi Pui-wah went to meet the first batch of potential investors to apply for seed funding for her femtech start-up, male investors showed no interest. Her product, a sanitary pad that can test for cervical cancer, is meant to replace the Pap smear, an invasive procedure that involves inserting a tool into the vagina, deterring women who are more conservative. “I heard feedback from male investors that doing a Pap smear is no big deal, that it is not that uncomfortable,”... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3218988/hong-kong-femtech-founders-fight-taboos-and-stigma-seek-more-investor-support-so-city-can-rival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3218988/hong-kong-femtech-founders-fight-taboos-and-stigma-seek-more-investor-support-so-city-can-rival?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 May 2023 04:30:07 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3213107/women-our-time-2023?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3213107/women-our-time-2023?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:30:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206134/progress-women-and-lgbtq-2023?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206134/progress-women-and-lgbtq-2023?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 10:46:30 +0000 Prominent Chinese television anchor Zhu Jun appears to have made his way back to state-owned broadcaster CCTV, four years after his alleged sexual harassment of a female intern ignited a scandal. Zhu posted a photo of himself with the CCTV headquarters in the background on Weibo on Thursday. It was accompanied by the text: “Counting down to the New Year, [I am] on my way to work at the TV station. There are traffic jams in Beijing again!” Hashtags that translate to “Zhu Jun returned to work at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205081/chinese-tv-host-accused-metoo-scandal-trumpets-return-state-broadcaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3205081/chinese-tv-host-accused-metoo-scandal-trumpets-return-state-broadcaster?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Dec 2022 09:03:12 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3202139/women-leading-chinas-covid-19-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3202139/women-leading-chinas-covid-19-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Dec 2022 10:17:31 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3200342/long-way-go-women-malaysian-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3200342/long-way-go-women-malaysian-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Nov 2022 01:26:34 +0000 Officials in one Chinese city could be denied promotion if they are found to have a history of domestic violence as the country grapples with the problem of how to better protect women. The issue was brought into sharp focus after four women were assaulted by a gang in the northern city of Tangshan earlier this year, prompting pledges from the police and justice system to crack down on the problem. The policy is part of the Communist Party’s attempts to own the public debate on gender issues,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3192076/chinese-city-targets-domestic-violence-links-drive-discourage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3192076/chinese-city-targets-domestic-violence-links-drive-discourage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Sep 2022 01:00:38 +0000 It’s easy to lose track of everything that’s going on in the Marvel universe, with countless superhero movies and shows out there that are often linked through recurring characters and interweaving storylines. Tatiana Maslany, who plays the lead in She-Hulk: Attorney at law, knows the problem well, saying she was glad that Marvel producer Kevin Feige didn’t probe her knowledge too much. “He, gratefully, didn’t ask me to watch everything,” says Maslany, laughing. “I think he realises that it’s an... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3189317/disney-series-she-hulk-attorney-law-brings-feminist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3189317/disney-series-she-hulk-attorney-law-brings-feminist?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Aug 2022 09:15:18 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3188004/long-way-go-womens-sports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3188004/long-way-go-womens-sports?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Aug 2022 05:23:46 +0000 After CCTV footage of a group of men brutally attacking women in a restaurant in Tangshan went viral last month, all eyes were on China’s authorities, expecting an answer. The video sparked a wave of public anger and discussions about the systemic violence against women in China. Many expected that this time, given the extreme violence, irrefutable evidence and viral nature of the footage, something would have to change. But instead, the Supreme Court honed in on gang activity and organised... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3186097/chinas-focus-gang-violence-after-tangshan-attack-does-little?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3186097/chinas-focus-gang-violence-after-tangshan-attack-does-little?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jul 2022 06:45:19 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3179408/why-its-important-support-more-women-led-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3179408/why-its-important-support-more-women-led-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 May 2022 08:00:18 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3175207/singapores-egg-freezing-policy-cautious-step-right-direction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3175207/singapores-egg-freezing-policy-cautious-step-right-direction?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Apr 2022 09:41:15 +0000 The Communist Youth League of China, the official party organisation for Chinese youths, published an article that said “extreme feminism cannot be tolerated” after the group was criticised for not including a picture of any women in a series of photos showing key Communist Party moments. Claiming that “extreme feminism has become a malignant tumour on the internet”, the League said that the criticisms had been an act of “online violence against the editors”. On April 2, the organisation... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3174419/china-communist-youth-league-lashes-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3174419/china-communist-youth-league-lashes-out?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Apr 2022 10:00:16 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3174403/philippine-election-pink-wave-brown-face-drama-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3174403/philippine-election-pink-wave-brown-face-drama-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Apr 2022 08:24:05 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3173556/hong-kongs-5th-wave-domestic-workers-lives-have-fallen-apart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3173556/hong-kongs-5th-wave-domestic-workers-lives-have-fallen-apart?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Apr 2022 07:05:11 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3172731/why-south-koreas-mum-idols-are-so-significant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3172731/why-south-koreas-mum-idols-are-so-significant?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Apr 2022 07:02:49 +0000 A court in southern China ordered a company that fired a pregnant staff for dozing off during overnight shifts to pay her 48,146 yuan (US$7,560) for unlawful dismissal. The woman, identified only as Xiaoyi, was fired by the managers in June 2019 because they said she had violated the company rules by dozing off four times during the overnight shift, according to news portal btime.com. The company’s name was not disclosed by the Intermediate People’s Court in Zhuhai, in southern China’s Guangdong... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3172339/chinese-company-fined-us7560-after-forcing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3172339/chinese-company-fined-us7560-after-forcing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Mar 2022 04:00:56 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3171849/male-contraception-comfort-women-and-ketanji-brown-jackson?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3171849/male-contraception-comfort-women-and-ketanji-brown-jackson?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Mar 2022 08:02:19 +0000 The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is “Break the Bias”, which asks us to imagine a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. This is the third story in a series about gender equality in China. Felizia Yao, a 27-year-old single project manager from Shanghai, bought herself a diamond ring earlier this year, which came as a shock to some of her friends. “I bought the diamond because I wanted to, and I have the ability to afford it,” Yao said. “No rules stipulate that you can... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170540/chinas-she-economy-booms-young-and-financially-independent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170540/chinas-she-economy-booms-young-and-financially-independent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Mar 2022 03:00:25 +0000 It’s been just days since Yoon Suk-yeol won the South Korean presidential election, but already the backlash has begun. Yoon, of the conservative People Power Party, beat his rival Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, in last week’s poll by a whisker, taking 48.56 per cent of the vote to Lee’s 47.85 per cent. While many supporters gathered at Yoon’s home to shower him with praise, others had a very different reaction. The terms “immigration to Canada”, “candlelight protest” and “No. 2 man” – a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3170538/south-korean-women-throw-down-gauntlet-anti-feminist-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3170538/south-korean-women-throw-down-gauntlet-anti-feminist-president?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Mar 2022 23:00:18 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3170119/breakthebias-women-who-have-challenged-stereotypes-past-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3170119/breakthebias-women-who-have-challenged-stereotypes-past-year?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Mar 2022 08:05:50 +0000 The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is “Break the Bias”, which asks us to imagine a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. In the first in a series of stories about gender equality in China, Phoebe Zhang looks at how the case of one trafficked woman led to unprecedented public attention and calls for action in China. “Is she China’s mother? Is she China’s reproductive organ? The bloody leash she wears around her neck is ringed with your coldness. The chains she wears are... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169571/chinas-city-elites-wake-scale-trafficking-after-chained-woman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169571/chinas-city-elites-wake-scale-trafficking-after-chained-woman?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Mar 2022 03:00:51 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3169544/ukraines-message-russian-mothers-safe-sex-lebanon-and-wordle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3169544/ukraines-message-russian-mothers-safe-sex-lebanon-and-wordle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:19:42 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3168374/ukraine-women-join-war-russia-invades?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3168374/ukraine-women-join-war-russia-invades?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Feb 2022 08:00:24 +0000 As South Korea enters a bitter presidential race, Hong Hee-jin is one of many young women who feel the country’s politics has become dominated by discrimination against women, even outright misogyny. “Women are being treated like they don’t even have voting rights,” said the 27-year-old office worker in Seoul. For years, South Korean women have made slow but steady progress in the workplace as they confronted an entrenched culture of male chauvinism and harassment. But this extremely tight... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3168139/south-korea-gender-wars-heat-presidential-hopefuls-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3168139/south-korea-gender-wars-heat-presidential-hopefuls-court?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 22:00:32 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3167826/romance-scams-eileen-gus-nationality-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3167826/romance-scams-eileen-gus-nationality-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Feb 2022 08:36:29 +0000 China’s family planning agency says it will now intervene when unmarried mothers and teenagers seek abortions. It is not that long ago when the authorities were accused of using forced abortion to control population growth. The irony of an anti-abortion policy will not be lost on generations of families affected by the one-child policy from 1980 to 2016, when a declining birth rate prompted Beijing to scrap it. By then it was credited with having prevented hundreds of millions of births and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3166836/more-meaningful-support-needed-single-mothers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3166836/more-meaningful-support-needed-single-mothers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Feb 2022 23:00:10 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3165826/sexual-assault-metaverse-viral-dance-and-asian-aunties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3165826/sexual-assault-metaverse-viral-dance-and-asian-aunties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Feb 2022 08:00:47 +0000