Location And Function: Study On The Role Of Women’s Federations During Social Transformation

Women’s rights are human rights, which is the slogan that echoed forth from the United Nations Fourth World Conference. In China national system on women’s human rights has been established based on the powerful administrative intervention and political preference, and the equality of men and women recognized as a constitutional principle and a fundamental state policy as well, by which women’s human rights have been greatly improved. Ever since China’s reform and opening-up, women have obtained huge opportunity of development, at the same time confronted with a great deal of problems. Women’s human rights have not developed rapidly together with modernization as expected. The question that the author is thinking about is, as women’s organizations, what should they do to adapt to the social changes, discover the system resources and fulfill the desire of women’s human rights? It is the women’s federation, the largest women’s organization in China, which is the object of this study. How will the women’s federation according to the change of relationship between the state and the society reform and adjust its social roles to realize its basic function, which is to present and safeguard women’s rights and interests, and promote gender equality.In additional to the foreword and conclusion, this thesis includes four chapters. Chapter one studies the social roles of women’s federations. It starts with the analysis of the historical origins of women’s federations and all previous terms of Charters of All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), pointing out that women’s federations originated from women’s organizations inside the Communist Party (CPC), which formed a natural link with CPC. The basic function of women’s federations, to present and safeguard women’s rights and interests, and promote gender equality as well, is both the requirement of historical development and the nature of women’s organizations. Then it continues to research the structure, characters and role localization of the women’s federation, with the conclusion that as the largest and most authoritative women’s organization in China, ACWF including the representative of women, the bridge and tie between CPC and government and women, the important pillar of the State power and the interface of women’s organizations, which is the convergence of political, governmental and social characters. According to its multiplicity, ACWF plays multiform roles as the political server, public manager and social server, which constitute a role-set. The relationship among the roles is unbalanced because of the ruling position of CPC, in which the political server role is overwhelming. But with the social transition, other roles of AWCF have been increasingly enhanced.Chapter two specially elaborates the necessity that ACWF adjusts its role-set at the macro context of social transformation. It analyzes the social changes happened in China since 1978, pointing out that the reform is planned and gradually improved under the control of the party and the government, providing space and opportunities for the reform in ACWF. Being along with the changes taking place in the social transition, ACWF has been maladjusted with its social credibility declining, social participation less efficient, importance as the pillar of the state power weakening. However challenges are opportunities at the same time. Social changes provides conditions for ACWF’s reform. The expectation of various roles in the role-set is getting similar, which means the status of ACWF to represent women has been more and more confirmed and consolidated by CPC, government, women and women’s organizations. The corresponding relationship changes lay the foundation for the role adjustment of ACWF.Chapter three discusses the enlightenment of the revision of Law of Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (Women’s Law) on ACWF’s role-adjustment. Women’s Law is the first basic law focusing on women and protecting women comprehensively, which is an important part of the legal system of human rights. In 2005, the Standing Committee of NPC revised the law. The process of the revision is also a process that the role-set of ACWF fully operated and ACWF, CPC, government, masses of women and other women’s organizations fully interacted, in which the roles of the role-set gambled and integrated. Though the analysis, the author claims that it is the basic principle that ACWF should strengthen interests representative role, insists the political server role, play appropriately the role of social manager and public server, and play the role of node of women’s organizations net actively. Only when the relationship among ACWF, CPC, government, masses of women and other women’s organizations well arranged, will ACWF transform successfully.Chapter four is about the system design of ACWF’s role-adjustment. Firstly it discusses the origin of the ideology and the characters of women’s human rights in China. With the work ACWF has done the article indicates its great importance and status in protecting and promoting women’s human rights and realizing gender equality. Then it continues to set the routes of adjusting ACWF with the theory of institutional transformation, discusses the detailed ways of reforming ACWF, brings forward that ACWF should be divided into three independent parts,. One is the women’s working unit in the CPC which will improve party’s political and ideological leadership of ACWF. The second is administrative gender equality department, which provides efficient public policy, service and products to advance gender equality. ACWF will assume some of the administration responsibility according to the government’s requirement to whom it can sell the service. The third is ACWF, with the fundamental mission of representing women and promoting women’s human rights, becomes an umbrella organization from which other women’s organizations can get support and assistance. Because path dependence exists in the institutional transformation, the author then elaborates the necessity and possibility of this reform though cost and benefits analysis. It arranges the schedule of the reform which will take two steps. The first is to remove ACWF’s governmental characteristic by setting up gender equality department in the government. The second is to remove its political characteristic though establishing women’s working unit in the CPC. Finally ACWF will turn into a women’s NGO.