Three men crawl on the ground while chained by a woman during a publicity stunt in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, on Feb 8, 2012. The art majors called for respect for women by the performance. [Photo/CFP]

Last week a poster in Beijing's Xicheng district civil affairs bureau marriage registration office drew criticism for being discriminatory to women. The poster read: "A woman's best achievement is to be a good housewife and a good mother. Why do women compete with men for resources and territory?"

Although protests forced the removal of the poster the next day, the civil affair authorities denied it was discriminatory to women, saying it only reiterated a "traditional concept".

First, the poster represented the trash of traditional culture. Sadly, some people still believe women are inferior to men. The traditional concept that "men work outside the family while women stay at home" fosters the belief that women can only be "good housewives" and "good mothers".

Second, the dissemination of such gender bias will enhance sexism. Sexism hinders women's freedom - from choosing their careers to deciding their future - and gradually makes them just an appendage to their husbands. In fact, traditional culture is against gender equality; it not only makes Chinese people ignore gender discrimination but also compels them see it as special protection and treatment of women.

The preamble to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women says, "extensive discrimination against women continues to exist" and emphasizes that such discrimination "violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity". It asks state parties to pursue a policy of eliminating discrimination against women.

The Convention recognizes that culture and tradition restricts women from enjoying their fundamental rights. The preamble also says, "a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality of men and women". And as a signatory to the Convention, China is obliged to make efforts to eliminate discrimination against women.

Third, the poster showed that just making "gender equality" a basic State policy is not enough to change people's mindset. Else, the official wouldn't have said it represented "a kind of traditional value". Therefore, to truly eliminate gender discrimination and promote gender equality, the authorities should teach it as a subject from the primary level, remove expressions biased against women from textbooks, and establish a value system that protects human rights and promotes gender equality.

The author is a professor of law at China Women's University.