Historical Reprints from
Revolutionary China - Women Hold up Half the Sky
Working
Women Are a Great Revolutionary Force (1973)
Today
is March 8, International Working Women’s Day. It is the glorious
festival of working women the world over in unity for struggle.
We convey our high respects to the revolutionary women of all countries
and warm greetings to the working women of all nationalities in
our country!
Women are a great force on all fronts
of China’s socialist revolution and construction.
During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the masses of
women in urban and rural areas, including those who seldom participated
in political activities, have taken an active part in the fierce
struggle between the two lines, denouncing the revisionist line.
Never before have women been mobilised on such a scale and to such
an extent as in this movement. Their consciousness of class struggle
and the struggle between the two lines has been rising steadily.
Large numbers of activists have come to the fore and many outstanding women of worker
and peasant origin have become members of leading bodies from national
to local levels.
In the mass movements ‘In industry
learn from Taching’ and ‘in agriculture learn from Tachai’,
women have played a role worthy of ‘the other half’. The overwhelming
majority of urban women have left the confines of their homes to
take part in communal work and productive labour, and work in ‘May
7’ productive organisations. The number of women workers and staff
members has increased considerably. In many rural areas, women are
the main labour force. Many organisations on the industrial and
agricultural fronts such as ‘March 8 work
teams’, ‘March 8 railway groups’, ‘iron-willed, girl detachments’
and ‘red women companies’ have become a shock force in production.
Women in commercial, financial, cultural, educational, health and
other fields, including large numbers of ‘barefoot doctors’, have
achieved new successes in serving the people. The militant militia
women have contributed to the defence of our socialist motherland.
The storms of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution have tempered
the working women of all nationalities, bringing new progress to
the women’s movement in China and tremendous changes in women’s
outlook. Women’s emancipation is a component part of the cause of
liberation of the proletariat. The success of the socialist revolution
and construction would have been impossible without the active
participation of women, who account for half the population. Likewise,
women’s emancipation would be out of the question without the victory
of the proletarian revolution. The fundamental tasks for the women’s
movement are to grasp class struggle and the struggle between the
two lines, use Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought to educate
the masses of women, eliminate the remaining influence of the revisionist
line of Liu Shao-chi and other political swindlers on women’s work,
and mobilise women to take an active part in the struggle between
the two classes, the two roads, and the two lines. It is wrong to
look at and handle women’s work without taking into consideration
class struggle and the struggle between the two lines, for that
will make it impossible to lead the women’s movement on to a correct
path. At present, criticism of revisionism and rectification of
the style of work is the task of prime importance to the whole Party
and country. Doing a good job of it is the key to doing the work
well in every department or place. In women’s work too, it should
be given priority. The masses of women should be mobilised to read
and study seriously so that they can grasp and thoroughly criticise
the essence of the revisionist line pushed by Liu Shao-chi and other
political swindlers, raise their ability to distinguish between
genuine and sham Marxism, and enhance their consciousness of implementing
Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line.
While carrying out criticism of revisionism
and the rectification of the style of work, it is necessary to give
the women a better understanding of the political situation and
use the domestic and international political situation and the new
successes achieved by women in various fields to inspire their political
and labour enthusiasm. The Chinese revolutionary women should concern
themselves not only with the revolution and construction at home
but also with the revolutionary struggles of the people and women
of all countries, keep the interests of both the motherland and
the world at heart, display proletarian internationalism and strive
to contribute to the complete emancipation of all mankind.
The victory of China’s democratic
and socialist revolutions has opened up a broad road for women’s
emancipation. Women and men hold equal positions in the political,
economic and cultural fields and in family life. But China was under
feudal rule for 2,000 years and the exploiting classes left behind
deep-rooted ideas discriminating against women and looking upon
them as slaves and appendages. Today, classes and class struggle
still exist in our society and it is still impossible to eliminate
completely the remnants of the old ideas of looking down upon women.
Neglecting to train more women cadres, giving men and women unequal
pay for equal work in rural areas, showing unwillingness to accept
women as workers in some factories, and the remaining feudal influences
in marriage - all these are a reflection of such old ideas. It is
necessary to wage a protracted struggle against them so as to overcome
the idea of looking upon women as inferior. With regard to remuneration
for labour, men and women must be given equal pay for equal work.
No factory should discriminate against women when recruiting
new workers. We must do away with old customs and habits in marriage
and establish new socialist standards.
Large numbers of women cadres have
come to the fore. This is an important indication of the emancipation
of China’and do a good job in maternity and child
care. Late marriage and planned parenthood should be promoted, and
men and women encouraged to share the household work. It is important,
as Lenin taught us o the revolution. But the number is ‘onK as meeting the needs
to # as developing revolutionary situatget women to take part in socially productive
labour, to liberate them from p to the masses of
wo“on{ asheir advance. Leading bodies at domestic slavery have
a certain percenta”on asmen members, and let them temper, to free them from
their stupefying and humiliating subjugation to the eternal drudgery
of the kitchen and the nursery. they will mature faster.
eIn order to enable women better to
take part in political activities, production, work, and study,
it is necessary to help them approach such ques’ons as love, marriage,
s specific characteristics
and to showing concern for and solving their special difficulties.
Every possible effort should be made to run nurseries, kindergartens,
an’s specific characteristics
and to showing concern for and solving their special difficulties.
Every possible effort should be made to run nurseries, kindergartens,
and nursing rooms well and do a good job in maternity and child
care. Late marriage and planned parenthood should be promoted, and
men and women encouraged to share the household work. It is important,
as Lenin taught us ‘to get women to take part in socially productive
labour, to liberate them from “domestic slavery”, to free them from
their stupefying and humiliating subjugation to the eternal drudgery
of the kitchen and the nursery.’
Party committees at all levels should
pay great attention to women’s work and strengthen their leadership
over it politically and ideologically. Some of their members should
be assigned to take charge of the work. Women’s organisations at
all levels should be consolidated and their work improved so that
they can act as capable assistants to Party Committees in carrying
out women’s work and as militant organisations in mobilising the
masses of women. It is necessary to assign a certain number of cadres
to take charge of work concerning women, educate them to foster the idea of doing
it well for the revolution, and overcome the erroneous idea of disdaining
such work. In planning the central work, it is necessary to take
into account women’s specific characteristics, make proper arrangements
and implement the policy of mobilising both men and women.
Chairman Mao has said: ‘Times have
changed, and today men and women are equal. Whatever men comrades
can accomplish, women comrades can too.’ Chairman Mao has always
given great encouragement to women. The women of our country must
live up to our great leader’s earnest expectations. They should
aim high, study hard; and strive to make new and still greater contributions
to socialist revolution and socialist construction!
8 March 1973