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matters especially at a time that there is a specific and time bound target such as the 30%
benchmark, intense monitoring over performance is a critical engagement of the UN, women’s rights organizations, scholars and the media.
More actors are adding to the long list of women’s organizations, the UN and other social justice movements for a global gender norm that maintains women’s political participation key on the international human rights agenda. In case women are not able to make the demands locally, international pressure could lead to positive response. The male leaders of the CCP cannot continue to lack concern on how far women are able to share or rotate political offices with men. The authoritarian system will also require some adjustments because of the need for some forms of adherence and responsiveness to global agreements. The habit of ignoring demands that do not match the interest of the party will obviously not continue as a political strategy in the long run. It will be interesting how the CCP will maneuver these pressures if not domestically but internationally as it poses further as an economic prowess and a modern state with a high sense of social and political advancement. The regime will likely have to prove this through a compromise even if it will be by reluctance in the future.
POLICY SUGGESTIONS
For women’s voices to be accelerated in the governance process, especially at top level politics, there should be initiatives that target both the state and society. Ranging from the need for the state to change its reorientation about women’s empowerment to the society’s adjustment of acceptance that political rights are inherent and that their enjoyment should not be infringed by stereotypical practices at the disadvantage of women should be critical initiatives.
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Firstly, if China will continue with “state feminism”, it has to face reality that gender equality is not a matter of choice or a political tool. There is need for reorientation about gender equality in its specific form different from the socialist concept of class equality. The socialist approach for women’s empowerment only provides abstract rhetoric that does not put women’s equality as a need that is attained true realistic approaches of investing in the special needs of the genders. “State feminism” usually approaches women’s advancement through patriarchal support to lift the other group from backwardness and subordination as if it were a favor doing such.
However, gender equality and genuine investment in women’s wellbeing be it political or social is a “smart investment” that guarantees progress for a society. Therefore, it will be of benefit to the Chinese regime to approach women’s equal inclusion in the governance process of the nation foremost as a responsibility and second as a rational opportunity for building a sustainable and stable society.
Secondly, a little assertiveness of the ACWF will enable this agency to mobilize the necessary resources be it material or otherwise to invest in women’s advancement. This means that women need a combination of resources to enable them attain the qualities that qualify them to partake in competitive political process. Despite the fact that China’s performance in educational attainment has increased, there is need for capacity building in areas such as self-esteem to boost women’s political confidence and networking to link women with the relevant individuals and political organizations for their recruitment. These are some of the practical approaches that will ultimately increase their presence in politics. The ACWF could even do more by initiating and implementing programs that will genuinely contribute to women’s advancement than party expectations. In reality, there are constraints towards the feasibility of this act but it is possible when national laws and policies are used as a backing for such demands.
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Thirdly, intraparty democracy from a gender perspective will increase the tendency of a reflective composition of party institutions. Even though the use of quotas has received controversial reactions from critics who do not accept it as a real strategy of women’s empowerment, it has become one of the fastest ways to improve women’s presence in high level politics (Dahlerup, 2008; Dahlerup and Freidenvall 2005). Many more countries are initiating some form of quota system to increase women’s presence in high ranking govrnment positions.
As the major if not sole political party through which women can gain a gateway to the legislature and other offices, stipulation of a required quota to be granted women is a sustainable way that guarantee their presence. If the CCP initiates such a party electoral law, it will likely be more efficient than mere pronouncements of proportional increase before a parliamentary election for instance.
Fourthly, there should be initiatives to broaden membership in state institutions from local to central levels. Focus on increasing capacity at the local level is reasonable but a balanced approach to empowerment could yield better results both at the local and central level politics. It is important to note that women’s inclusion in grassroots politics highly relies on their membership in the CCP because this is the most available way to their political activeness in village, county and township levels. In addition, their capability of running as vibrant candidates in village elections depends on the possibility of obtaining the necessary political resources such as networking, confidence and trust building. However, in such processes, there have been controversial appraisals of women’s access to local government offices as they lack the necessary opportunities to challenge male counterparts. As a matter of fact, party affiliation cannot continue be a determiner to women’s political relevance and their inclusion at all levels be it in the village or the center should be a priority.
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Fifthly, empower new and existing civil society organizations to complement the efforts of the ACWF. This way, NGO resources are channeled into areas the state is not able to fully cater for while it also provides women with alternative opportunities to contribute to national development. Indeed the post-1978 China has received various forms of international interactions which have provided a turning point (to some extent) about state and civil-society relation (Tan and Wang 2012). An extremely important legacy the FWCW had on Chinese politics and the feminist movement is the connection it created by linking women’s advocacy organizations in China and the global feminist movement. This benefit will only survive productively if the state does not interfere too much into the programs of the independent organizations that innovate and act in the interest of women. This means that non-mass organizations or state-funded organizations will be able to continue partnering and utilizing resources from their cousin organizations (both within and outside China) for greater productivity. As noted by Howell (2003), the ACWF continues its role as a mobilizer for the state and simultaneously represent women’s interests but the reality is that the dual responsibility weakens its relevance and independence if it were to be expected as a true pressure group.
In addition, it is totally unrealistic to assume that the 23% female presence in the NPC means that all national policies will be greatly influenced by those women. However, the mere fact that they are able to communicate the needs of their social groups and having the government realize the different needs of the Chinese men and women with regards to national development, is a step worthy of encouragement. Despite this point, it is also important that more efforts are geared towards the improvement of women’s activism in the NPC or any other institution they are found. Politics of presence will not be enough for the long run and there is
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need for institutions, capacities and strategies geared towards greater female mobilization to influence policies in real rational forms and not as agents for party satisfaction within the system.
Further, international agreements and commitments about the status of women have advanced since the emergence of the CEDAW. National governments and the civil society have both relied on such global commitments to require greater investment in the lives of women ranging from economic to political. Therefore, it is in the interest of China to make use of the international women’s rights instruments it has ratified. This is possible from the regime as well as the NGOs working on women’s empowerment. According to the agreements stipulated in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the achievement of gender parity in politics should be the responsibility of all national governments across the world. The initial 30% bench mark could be a target for China because that is the most practical way of accelerating gender equality in politics. If quotas are to be made, it is necessary that they are drawn above one-fourth of the membership because this will allow for a quicker performance than relying on global averages to gauge the success of women’s ratio in national institutions such as the parliament. Indeed constitutional quotas have assisted countries such as Rwanda but the attainment is a result of higher targets than the 2007 Chinese target of 22% of women in parliament.
Finally, women’s political participation can take even a higher level if the post-Beijing conference momentum does not fade out. It has been discussed that there have been initiatives for women’s access to political positions both at local and central levels, and more focus have been on their contribution to the governance in the parliament, but this has received a mixed success. Despite this, if there is continuous activism, research focus and other public engagements to support women’s direct demand for political office, both the regime and the society will be reminded of the importance of the political system being gendered in a fair way.
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