Policies and Laws to Protect the Rights of Chinese Women

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In the early 1950s，the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China，the first law promulgated since the founding of New China in 1949，clearly stipulated women’s equal status in marriage and the family.The revised Marriage Law，promulgated in 2001，reiterated the basic principle of equality between men and women，stressed the equal status of husband and wife and their equal rights and responsibilities in marriage and the family，and，in consideration of actual situation，added articles forbidding domestic violence and bigamy with the clear aim of protecting women’s rights.Today，women have a lot more say in decision-making concerning their own marriage and play a bigger role in family decisions，and their personal and property rights are better protected.

Over the last decades，the rate of early marriage among women has dropped，the qverage age for first marriage has gone up，and the general childbirth rate was kept at a fairly low level-1.8 per couple in 2004.In the course of promoting family planning，the state stresses gender consciousness in society while respecting women’s rights concerning childbirth，integrating family planning with the promotion of gender equality.The Law on Population and Family Planning，implemented since 2002，further stipulates that husband and wife must both be responsible for family planning，thus providing favorable conditions for gender equality in family life.

Greatly developing social welfare undertakings，giving priority to community public services that directly concern family life with the aim of socializing housework，and enabling women to have more free time.In tandem with the rapid development of housework services，the rate of expenditure on such services is increasing.The prevalence of household appliances and the development of nurseries and kindergartens，as well as the increased percentage of housework shared by men have all lightened women’s housework burden and further narrowed the gap in housework time between men and women.