Documentary Description
China’s women have always been under pressure: from men, from
family, from work. Now more and more are under new pressure — from
themselves — to take control of their lives; to get an education; to
have a career; to marry for love. It’s a slow, difficult process, and
it is changing China.
Mass migration from the countryside to the cities is increasing
prosperity, but fracturing families. It also gives women new roles —
whether running the farm back home, or as wage-earners in the city.
Xiao Zhang has lived in Beijing for 14 years, cooking and cleaning.
This episode follows her home to her village 600 miles away for Chinese
New Year, where she is reunited with the children she hasn’t seen for a
year. The cameras capture the visit of the local Birth Planning Officer
to check on young wives, the plight of unwanted girl babies and
abortion issues, and a village wedding which turns nasty.
The film also explores the discrimination suffered by Xinjiang’s
Muslim women, the hardships of life in Tibet, and China’s tragic
suicide figures: China has one of the highest suicide rates for women
in the world: 150,000 a year. One every four minutes.
Finally, we see a glimpse of urban life where the younger generation
of women has left the countryside for factory work in the cities. The
hours and conditions are tough but the women are slowly gaining
confidence and independence.
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