ABSTRACT
‘Tolerance’ has both a positive and a negative connotation. In a symbolic way, it suggests the ways women are placed in contemporary China: being tolerated but not treated as real equals. In this chapter, I first present a brief overview of the contemporary Chinese legislative regime related to women. This is followed by an examination of gender inequality in the legal, cultural and linguistic contexts through a number of recent cases. It is suggested that Chinese women are describable as both subjects and objects in the legal process with both positive and negative implications for women’s rights. Lastly, the changing status of women in China is conceptualised within the legal system as a hierarchical social order in the male-dominated Chinese culture, with the symbolic as well as actual power of law both empowering Chinese women in the legal process and yet placing them in an un-winnable position in the social strata. I argue that Chinese women’s rights and genuine liberation will not be achieved unless and until equality at home in family relationships is first obtained. This will require the fundamental change of Chinese thinking regarding men and women, to involve all members of the society and the Chinese culture as a whole, if Chinese women are to play a meaningful role in a civil society that is yet to emerge but needs to emerge in China. 2
