The Hidden Power Of Rural Women In Rural Governance

Villager’s autonomy is an important content of rural grassroots democracy and it is one of the most effective and widely implementation approach. Rural women account for more than half of the rural population, which have become an important force that cannot be neglected in rural development and integral part of perfecting the construction of democratic politics.The mainstream paradigm that man is superior to women and the traditional gender concept that men played the key role in the society while women were confined to the family have made the rural women live in the unique village culture in traditional society. Rural women act as the role of "outwards into" under the traditional society, and their space is limited to family life. Public life field seems to be the males’court, females would rather to choose to be silent and seem to have no power when males are there. With the continuous development of modern social political and economic level,the mainstream paradigm of rural culture seems to have changed quietly.Found in the village I investigated, wives are masters of the family and they gradually get dominant family status. Rural women’s scope of activity and social interaction also continue to expand. The leading role of rural women in the family is more and more prominent,women are increasingly aware that their power is growing. The leading role of rural women in family and social interaction has virtually penetrated and influenced the village public governance level.Rural women exert a kind of potential influence, which is fuzzy and uncertain. This influence has seemingly violated the view that males are dominant,but it also makes people suddenly feel the real power behind the daily life. And this power creates a strong shock to the crowds. However, the male-dominated reasonable specifications don’t make the present Chinese rural women completely jump out of the patriarchal system rules.The traditional inequality ideas that man is superior to women seriously constraines women’s freedom of thought and behaviors.The stereotype of a strong man with a weak woman still dominates many people’s minds after long-term cultivation of male mainstream culture. In real life, they still follow the various specifications and rank orders of the patriarchal system in order to maintain the men’s status and authority.They slowly run out of their own living space and jump out of the patriarchal system rules with a potential influence. I put this huge influence down to The hidden power of rural women and I try to summarize these relevant strategies of rural women by constructing the concept of rural women’s "Hidden Power".Based on the investigation of XuJiashan village at the foot of the Dabie Mountain, I try to observe rural women’s daily life and social interaction under the family life and social relation level from the angle of theory of practice, analyze the source, characteristics and mechanism of rural women’s "Hidden Power" and dig out how the "Hidden Power" influence the village grassroots governance.What kind of resources and action strategies do rural women have when they are in a subordinate and uncertain condition? What is their action logic? And then to explore the significance of rural women’s "Hidden Power" for the reform of rural governance.