‘At night we heard women prisoners wailing’: exhibition explores Hong Kong history from a female perspective
- ‘Gender & Space’ tells stories about Hong Kong’s first century as a British colony through the eyes and experiences of various women
- The subjects of the show at Tai Kwun have been chosen because they relate to the heritage site’s former occupants – law courts, a police station and prison
“Gender & Space”, an exhibition at Tai Kwun in Central on Hong Kong Island, is impressive. But like many reflections on 19th century women, its message is pretty depressing: their roles were mostly confined to the kitchen – or the bedroom.
On show until January 15, the exhibition – mostly photos and architectural drawings – explores the experiences of several women in Hong Kong society from 1841 to 1941.
It looks at the first case heard in the city’s Supreme Court, in 1844, when a married couple – Laong-awa and his wife, Laong Kwok-shi – abducted two young boatwomen in Hong Kong with the intention to sell them into prostitution across the border in Guangzhou for HK$90 each. Both were sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The most moving stories are those involving mui tsai (“little sister” in Cantonese) and the system by which poor girls were sold as servants to wealthy families. Many ended up as prostitutes in brothels, forced to dine and dance with their opium-smoking guests for more than 12 hours a day.
Stories from the perspective of expatriate women living on the prison grounds are also told. “We could see Chinese prisoners exercising in the courtyard. At night we sometimes heard women prisoners wailing and were told they were in straitjackets.
