China making progress on gender equality, women's rights

Oct 11 marks the fifth International Day of the Girl Child. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

China will work together with the international community to continue to promote gender equality, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday, the fifth International Day of the Girl Child.

China made great progress in promoting gender equality and women's rights in the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), reducing gender inequality in education and healthcare services, and increasing the number of women in senior or managerial roles, said Shen Yueyue, deputy head of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, at a ceremony in Beijing marking the event. Shen is also chairwoman of the All China Women's Federation.

More than 110 girls from underdeveloped mountainous areas in Hunan and Guizhou provinces also attended a ceremony in Beijing marking the fifth International Day of the Girl Child, Oct 11, 2016. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

To further promote gender equality, China will improve legal systems to ensure women's rights and empower women through education, employment and healthcare so they play a bigger role in politics and the economy, she said.

Wang Pei'an, deputy head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said healthcare for pregnant women and children in China has improved in recent decades. Last year, the maternal mortality rate decreased to 20.1 per 100,000 from 21.7 per 100,000 in 2014, while the death rate for children under the age of 5 fell to 1.07 percent from 1.2 percent in 2013, Wang said, adding that the achievements won high praise from the UN.

More than 110 girls from underdeveloped mountainous areas in Hunan and Guizhou provinces also attended a ceremony in Beijing marking the fifth International Day of the Girl Child, Oct 11, 2016. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

China's efforts to fight illegal identification of the sex of fetuses and illegal abortion based on sex also produced tangible results, with the ratio of male to female newborns declining to less than 1.14 last year, the seventh consecutive decline since 2009, Wang said.

Li Hongyan, national program officer of the UNESCO Beijing Office, said at Tuesday's ceremony that China has made remarkable progress in ensuring girls have equal access to education and in promoting overall gender equality.

More than 110 girls from underdeveloped mountainous areas in Hunan and Guizhou provinces also attended the ceremony on Tuesday.

The girls, mostly aged between 11 and 14, went on a tour of historic sites and landmarks in Beijing, including Tian'anmen Square and the National Museum of China, from Saturday to Tuesday, which was organized by the National Health and Family Planning Commission.