To protect its abused women, China must fight ingrained male chauvinism
- A recent domestic violence case has triggered discussion about why it is so difficult to obtain a divorce in China. The nation needs to rethink cultural assumptions about divorce, and the system must help abused women, instead of sending them home
A man beating up his wife, dragging her around by her hair while shouting abuse. At first look, the footage posted online by Liu Zengyan, a victim of domestic violence, is not uncommon in China, disturbing as it is. Similar scenes are not uncommon on Chinese streets.
What comes next in the video is shocking, though. Liu, the wife in the video, jumps from the second floor and lands on the ground, ending up with nine broken bones. She is now recovering and has to use a wheelchair.
In recent interviews with various Chinese media outlets about the incident in August last year, Liu, of Shangqiu in central China’s Henan province, explained that she jumped not to attempt suicide but to escape her husband, who had threatened to kill her.
Shockingly, all this was not enough for the Zhecheng County court in Henan to grant Liu the divorce she was seeking.
As a desperate measure, Liu posted the footage, which had been caught by security cameras in her boutique shop, on WeChat, China’s popular social media platform.
The marriage law in China explicitly states that domestic violence is grounds for divorce. If a couple decide to go for a no-fault divorce out of court, it is straightforward. If they go down the court route, however, the judge almost always denies a woman’s first attempt to get a divorce. Chinese courts’ highly institutionalised practice of denying the first divorce attempt, regardless of the reason, has caused untold misery to many women.
In China, marriage is regarded as the bedrock of social stability. Yet, the divorce rate has been rising steadily. Last year, 4.15 million couples dissolved their marriages. In 2003, when divorce by mutual consent was first allowed, 1.3 million couples parted company.
Why domestic violence is as barbaric now as it was in ancient China
This means that some battered women will be trapped longer in abusive relationships. Domestic violence is widespread in China. Although a survey conducted by the All-China Women’s Federation in 2011 found that 24.7 per cent women suffered some form of violence during their marriages, some feminists believe that the real figure is much higher.
Four years on, many challenges remain. There are still no comprehensive implementation guidelines on the law, which are urgently needed to address uncertainties about defining what domestic violence is.
Why more Chinese women seeking divorce is something to celebrate
One major problem is the lack of awareness and capacity among those who work on the front line. Without the right training, police officers, judges and workers from the neighbourhood committee or the All-Chinese Women’s Federation tend to regard domestic violence as a minor issue; a small problem to be solved within the family.
In Liu Zengyan’s case, the police weren’t sympathetic and the court denied her petition. Luckily, she was resourceful enough to post the footage on WeChat, gaining sympathy as well as media attention, thus bringing pressure to bear on the court. Within weeks, her divorce came through.
I believe the root of the problem lies in the power disparity between the sexes, and feudalistic notions ingrained in Chinese culture. Confucian ideology that dominated China for centuries regards women as inferior. On the surface, China has leapt into the modern world, yet plenty of men are stuck in the past and believe their wives are their property. There is even an old saying that suggests that a wife will forget her place if she isn’t beaten every three days.
Also, the idea that divorce is a disgrace or a personal failure is feudalistic and outdated. I hope that this case could be an agent for change. China needs to train those working in the legal system to deal better with domestic violence complaints. It should scrap courts’ practice of denying the first divorce attempt. To deny a battered woman a divorce is to encourage domestic violence.
To wipe out the plague, Chinese must reject feudalistic ideas, in particular, male chauvinist attitudes.
Lijia Zhang is a rocket-factory worker turned social commentator, and the author of a novel, Lotus.
