Status+of+women+Mao+and+Stalin

Overarching thesis: Both Stalin and Mao used the liberation of women as a symbol of revolution and modernization.

Women living in Russia and China had been oppressed under previous governments. Revolutionary leaders saw the liberation of women as a crucial part of refoming society


 * = =Stalin (1922-1953)= ||= =Mao (1949-1976)= ||
 * * **Prior to Stalinism:**
 * women tended to be less educated, higher rates of illiteracy
 * women in lower social classes had to work jobs that were often more difficult/menial and were paid less than men. They were not protected by many labor standards
 * women could not own property
 * divorce required either consent from both partners, or from the husband. It was difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce on her own. ||< *** **Prior to Maoism:**
 * under Confucianism ideals, women were part of a social hierarchy, inferior to men.
 * consequences of foot-binding
 * no property rights, marriages arranged, could not divorce
 * women kept strictly in the domestic sphere ||
 * * "Women in the U.S.S.R. are accorded equal rights with men in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social and political life. The possibility of exercising these rights is ensured to women by granting them an equal right with men to work, payment for work, rest and leisure, social insurance and education, and by state protection of the interests of mother and child, prematernity and maternity leave with full pay, and the provision of a wide network of maternity homes, nurseries and kindergartens." (Article 122 of 1936 USSR Constitution) || * The New Culture movement emphasized the liberation of women as crucial to modernization.
 * Family reform became a critical issue--Confucianism and it's ideas of filial obligation and family hierarchy were rejected
 * Foot-binding, polygamy, and prostitution were banned
 * It became more socially acceptable for women to join the workforce. Mao believed that they should receive pay equal to men. ||
 * * 1936 Constitution legally gave women voting and political power ("right to elect and be elected on equal terms with men", Article 137) || * Women could participate in politics and many were elected into positions of power (assuming they were, of course, in the CCP)
 * Suffrage "won" in 1947 ||
 * * Early Soviet policy had allowed women to divorce with the same legal rights as men. Custody and estate divisions decided on case-by-case. Held until 1936.
 * Women also given legal right to abortion. Held until 1936.

Why? Declining birth rate made Soviet leaders look differently at their policy, and women's role as a mother/wife was reinforced as their primary responsibility to society. Abortion was banned, divorce was more restrictive, and men were absolved of responsibility for out-of-wedlock children. || * Companionate marriage was encouraged
 * women gained rights in divorce, and domestic abuse became a punishable crime.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ || Evaluation:

Women in both countries seemed to make significant progress towards equality. However, there are some discrepancies between the communist ideologies and the policy that resulted. In Russia, though women did enter the work force more readily, they were often passed over for promotions. Additionally, it was more economically viable for [state-controlled] factories to hire men and their wives if they had to provide boarding for employees families. The fluctuations of Soviet policy on divorce and abortion show the view of women's rights as secondary to the state's well-being. In China, women's personal freedoms were established and maintained, though some of these policies had existed under Chiang Kai-shek's KMT government. Additionally the fact that nearly a third of the working population by 1970 consisted of women is contextualized by the low wages for labor in China and the necessity of having two working parents in order to provide for the family.