BEIJING, Feb. 23 -- As one of the women who have
reached the highest levels of leadership, United States Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton is very familiar with the issues and challenges facing women in
the world today.
So it was with little surprise she managed to strike
such a chord with her audience at a women leaders' forum in Beijing yesterday
with her message that much more had to be done to achieve equality.
"I believe strongly that if women are not full
participants in society, the society does not advance the way that it could. And
if women are denied their rights, it affects children, families and the entire
social structure," she said to more than 20 female academics and leaders in the
business, legal, media and non-profit sectors.
"I know, too, that in no society, certainly including
my own, are women treated equally yet," said Clinton, 61, on the last day of her
three-day visit.
From rural education to equal pay, Clinton heard from
participants at the US embassy Sunday of the obstacles that still face
Chinese women.
Many at the forum had met the former first lady
during her previous visit when her husband Bill was US president and provided
her with an update on the work they were involved in.
For Chen Mingxia, a law professor at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences who helped set up a network to tackle domestic
violence in China, getting gender equality and awareness written into the law
was paramount.
"Our vision is to have a beautiful blue sky under
which there is no violence toward women," Chen said. "We are working on training
the police in this area, and we have over 100 people and more than 60
organizations in our network."
The challenges brought about by the financial crisis
also presented opportunities for women in the workplace, said Feng Cui,
vice-president of the China Association of Women Entrepreneurs.
"Right now, 20 percent of entrepreneurs in this
country are women. With the financial crisis they are facing extremely difficult
situations, but we want them to stand up and work hard, not to bend in the face
of difficulties ... with solidarity," Feng said.
Wu Qing, a board member of the cultural development
center for rural women, also said that the rich-poor divide in China accentuated
the gender differences in the country.
In rural areas, parents tended to prefer a boy for
their ability to do manual work, while in the city there was a rising preference
for girls because of their seemingly closer ties with family, she said.
To tackle the issues, Clinton said the solution lies
with women in all levels of society.
"Particularly between women, in the United States and
China we have many things in common despite the differences in our lives," she
said.
Xie Lihua, editor of the Rural Women magazine and
secretary-general of the development center for rural women in Beijing, said:
"Hillary knew more about our culture and the development of women's rights this
time. As she said, as long as every woman stands up and tells the truth, we can
get equal rights and opportunities."
(Source: China Daily)
