Editorial: How to Protect Women’s Rights in China

Thirty years after it was first promulgated, the Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests has just been revised. On Oct. 30, the 37th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress passed the revisions, which will take effect the first of the year.

The revision enriched the content of the law from 61 articles in nine chapters to 86 articles in 10 chapters. This is another comprehensive revision following 2005’s substantial revision and the fractional adjustments of 2018. The revised law further stipulates that the state shall take appropriate measures to promote equality between men and women, eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and prohibit the exclusion and restriction of women’s enjoyment and exercise of rights and interests under the law. It indicates that the protection of women’s rights and interests will be strengthened. To this end, explicit and implicit systems should be adopted simultaneously and all endeavors should be pushed forward through both system construction and relevant incidents.