Summary
Some young Chinese feminists shaved their heads to protest
inequality in higher education. Two women put on white wedding gowns and
splashed them with red paint publicizing domestic violence. Five of the core
members of China’s new feminist movement are in jail because they were accused
of provoking social instability. They put in on the eve of International Women’s
Day just when they were going to plan a public awareness campaign about sexual harassment
on public transportation. Security agents are now hunting for those who
participated in the women’s protests. One of the women named Xiao Meili, 26,
said that they were so afraid and confused and that they didn’t understand what
they did wrong. More than 1,100 people added their names to a petition to
release the five women. The American Ambassador to the United Nations made the
statement that if China is committed to advancing the rights of women, they
should address the issues not silence them. Many overseas have been campaigning
through Facebook and Twitter about the freeing the women. The jailed feminists
have drawn a large amount of international attention. The women are denied their
medication, they did not notify their families about the detention and they are
constantly being interrogated and pressured to confess that they broke a law.
Reaction
I was shocked to see this in the news. It is sad that women
are discouraged to protest about a serious issue such as sexual assault,
especially in a more modernized country. Even the way the women are treated
while in jail is unreasonable. I am glad that this has gotten around the world
and that people are supporting them. This could have become an even bigger
issue than it is if others were not involved in the promotion of freeing the
five women. It might still become a bigger issue if the government continues to
hunt down the protesters and convince them that they did something wrong.
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