Elisabeth Croll (ed.), THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN CHINA,
A Selection of Readings, 1949-1973, Anglo-Chinese Educational Institute,
London,1974, pp 115.
This book is an anthology of selections from leading Chinese periodicals.
The Chinese Communist Party has consistently maintained that the question of emancipation of women is an important component part of the revolutionary cause of the proletariat.
In the areas controlled by the Communist Party, organizations of women were built up in the process of struggle against Japanese imperialism. Chinese women played a crucial role in the liberation war against the oppressors.
The victory of women's liberation in China is a direct result of the successful completion of the ^new' democratic revolution. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China, material conditions necessary for the emancipation of women were laid down. In fact, the All-China Democratic Women's Federation (ACDWF) was founded in Peking on 3rd April 1949—six months before the proclamation of the People's Republic. The ACDWF is made up of a number of affiliated groups and aims ^to strengthen the unity of women of all nationalities and classes raise their levels of political understanding andj vocational ability, break down their social isolation, protect the newly-won rights of women and give expression to their aspirations". The ACDWF defines the ^women's question" on three levels—in the society, in the family and on an ideological level.
In China, women are no more excluded from socially productive work. In fact, their involvement in social production was rendered possible due to the transformation of the ^economic base'.
In the rural areas, land reforms resulted in the elimination o f feudal remnants and its landed aristocracy. The land which was given to