Voices

Graduate course for women a game for the rich

By Sun Jiale (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-06 08:08

A graduate course for women offered by a university in Beijing claims to be able to turn its students into "virtuous and caring wives, excellent leaders at work, filial children for parents and elegant beauties in social activities" and all in just 24 days.

The recruiting brochure lists 19,800 yuan for tuition fees, in addition to 5,900 yuan for materials and extracurricular activities, not including food and accommodation.

It seems as long as a woman joins this course, she will be able to become a perfect model of a modern woman.

But I wonder with what kind of magic can this course shape a perfect woman in 24 days? It must be a commercial secret; otherwise the tuition fee would not be so high. Everyone with common sense knows that good character comes from personal experience, education as well as genes. It may take years for an adult to change her character, which was formed in the process of growing up.

In fact, there are many problems with the mission of such training. The purpose to be a virtuous and caring wife is to have a loving family. But there are two parties in a relationship. Does it really work if just one person changes?

And a successful career needs both opportunities and outstanding abilities. How can these kinds of abilities be gained in only 24 days? Can we say a woman, who contributes to the society selflessly in a normal position, is not good enough?

To take care of your husband as a wife, to look after your parents as a child, to love your kids as a mother; does not every woman have this character? Why do women need such an expensive course? Are these not things many women do every day?

With such high training fees, the course is clearly targeting businesswomen, wives and daughters of businessmen or senior officials in government.

This ridiculous course, which excludes wage-earning women, is saying that women from rich families lack these basic qualities?

The thing I know is that many women from normal families not only have these traits they also live them in daily life.

In my opinion, rich women do not need to spend so much to become a so-called "perfect woman". They can just stay several days in a normal family. After all, practical experience is the best education.

This training course with an impressive title targets only the rich and famous. But let us wait a little while to see how it works.

Excerpts of a comment that appeared on www.rednet.cn on April 1.