Women and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in China

When the Communists came to power in 1949, they sought to abolish what they saw as feudal, patriarchal practices such as foot-binding and female infanticide. They passed a Marriage Law and other laws that gave equal rights to women, and promoted women’s participation in the workplace. Women were said to hold up half the sky in this new communist utopia. While all independent social organizations were abolished, the Communist Party created its own organizations to represent the interests of women, workers, and peasants. The Women’s Federation was the official party organization representing the interests of women for most of the Communist period.

Only in the last 20 years, have other social organizations – what we would call nongovernmental or nonprofit organizations (NGOs or NPOs) been allowed. These organizations have grown rapidly since the 1990s. For women’s NGOs, 1995 was a watershed year because the 4^th World Women’s Conference was held in Beijing that year. Many NGOs and women activists came to Beijing that year to share their experiences, and their presence stimulated a wave of interest in women’s issues and NGOs.

Now there are many NGOs devoted to women’s issues, not just the Women’s Federation. Some examples include the Beijing University Women’s Law Studies and Legal Aid Center, Rural Women Knowing All, and the Maple Women Psychological Counseling Center of Beijing.

The growth of NGOs in China is significant for two reasons. One is because almost all political and social organizations in China were controlled by the Communist Party, so this is a very new trend. The other reason is because these organizations are contributing to a growing civil society in China. Some observers feel this civil society will create pressures for democratization.

Before we get too optimistic about civil society and the possibilities for democratization in China, we should keep in mind that many of these so-called NGOs are not completely independent of the Communist Party-controlled government. Many were actually created by various Party or government offices. They are referred to as GONGOs (government-organized NGOs). This may sound like a paradox, but keep in mind that GONGOs do have some independence from the government.

Take the Beijing University Women’s Law Studies and Legal Aid Center for example. It is under Beijing University, which is a public university, but it is also independent of Beijing University when it comes to their funding and staff. Almost all their funds come from Ford Foundation grants, and their staff draws from various law professors and lawyers in Beijing.

There are increasingly more and more grassroots NGOs in China that have little connection with the Party or government, but at this point, China is in a transition period whereby many NGOs need to maintain ties with Party or government organizations, if for no other reasons than political protection. Truly independent, grassroots NGOs are more vulnerable to being shut down, especially if they are involved with activities that the government does not like. For example, some HIV/AIDs NGO activists wanted to convene a meeting about the AIDS situation in China recently, but the meeting was shut down because AIDS is viewed as a sensitive political problem.

Beijing University Center for Women’s Law Studies and Legal Services

Above is a picture of a visit by a Ford Foundation Representative to the Beijing University Women's Law Studies and Legal Aid Center in August of 2007.

The Center for Women’s Law Studies and Legal Services (hereafter referred to as the Center) was founded in December of 1995 by the Law School of Beijing University with funds provided by the Ford Foundation. The Center is a nongovernmental, non-profit organization devoted to serving the legal needs of Chinese women. The Center has made significant progress in providing legal aid to women, taking on various cases, conducting research on legal affairs, and organizing and participating in conferences on women’s issues. It has received extensive press coverage from the People’s Daily, Worker’s Daily, CCTV, Beijing TV and many other newspapers and magazines. But the Center also operates with a shortage of funds and personnel and must carry out its work in a society that has little understanding of the concept of legal aid.

The Center’s origins go back to the early 1990s when several events gave greater attention to women’s issues. One was the Women’s Rights Protection Law which was passed in 1992. An even more important event was the 4^th World Women’s Conference in Beijing in 1995 when women’s issues and NGOs were given a great deal of exposure. Many international NGOs and women activists attended that meeting and their presence had a big impact on Chinese women. One other factor instrumental in the establishment of the Center was the involvement of three women who became the center’s leaders: Yang Dawen, a law professor at People’s University; Ma Yinan, a law professor at Beijing University; and Guo Jianmei, who was both a Beijing University law professor and a practicing lawyer.

These three professors had the idea for the center which became a reality due to financial help from the Ford Foundation. Intially, the Center was associated with the Beijing Tonghe law office, but for political reasons and because of interference from the Beijing city government, the Center had to move. For half a year, the Center went through various negotiations before it separated from the Tonghe law office and associated with the Beijing University Law School with which it still maintains a relationship.

The Center has an informative English-language website at http://www.woman-legalaid.org/index.php where you can look at an overview of the Center’s evolution (with pictures), and of the Center’s staff, and articles about different women’s issues in China.