Battling violence & censors: Women in China become 'invisible & absent'
Battling violence & censors: Women in China become 'invisible & absent'
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The CCP has long promoted gender equality as a core tenet, but as cases of gender abuse make headlines, it has tried to squelch dissent, control narrative
China’s Communist Party (CCP) has long promoted gender equality as one of its core tenets, yet as such cases continue to make national headlines, Beijing has done little to address calls for accountability. When a prominent woman in China’s #MeToo movement took on a powerful man in court, it was the accused, not the accuser, who was held up as the victim. When several women were savagely beaten by men after resisting unwanted advances in a restaurant, the focus of the story pivoted from gender violence to gang violence. And when a mother of eight was found chained to the wall of a doorless shack, it was her mental fitness — not her imprisonment — that became the talking point. Each incident went viral online in China, initially touching off a wave of outrage over violence against women. But in every case, the conversation was quickly censored to minimise the ways in which women had been abused.
China’s Communist Party (CCP) has long promoted gender equality as one of its core tenets, yet as such cases continue to make national headlines, Beijing has done little to address calls for accountability. Fearing social unrest, the party has instead used social media censors to stifle criticism and amplify comments that support the government’s preferred narrative of social harmony. When a story becomes popular online, the party’s propaganda department will send guidelines to managers at large social media companies for how to handle the topic, said King-wa Fu, a professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Center of the University of Hong Kong. Censors then remove popular comments or accounts that voice opinions that stray too far from the party line. “We have seen this with a lot of cases in the past decade where these kinds of local grievances escalate to a national agenda,” Fu said.
The outpouring of concern over violence against women has created competing pressures for Chinese officials, who need to be seen as though they are taking action. Wary of any dissent they cannot control, the officials have moved to narrow the space for debate. These tactics were recently used to manipulate discussions around one of China’s highest-profile #MeToo cases. In August, Zhou Xiaoxuan, an outspoken activist, lost her appeal against Zhu Jun, a famous TV anchor she accused of sexual assault. When Ms. Zhou, who is also known by her nickname, Xianzi, first came forward in 2018, her case inspired women to speak out about their own experiences being harassed. Throngs of supporters came to see her at the courthouse. Not long after, Zhou was barred from Weibo, a popular social media platform. Positive comments about her were removed.
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The subject of women’s rights has become increasingly sensitive in China as the country’s top leader, Xi Jinping, encourages more women to embrace traditional gender roles and have more babies to help address a looming demographic crisis. Women who push back on or question the party’s authority by citing gender inequality are seen as troublemakers.
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“Our society is now in a very conflicted state,” He said. On the one hand, the public is more aware of the gendered aspect to cases of violence, she said. But on the other hand, “the misogynistic ideas are increasing.”
https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/battling-violence-censors-women-in-china-become-invisible-absent-122090800063_1.html