Magsaysay awardee inspires Chinese women

Poor education has made it harder for women in poor countries to achieve social and political equality with their better-educated brothers.

Wu Qing, 2001 Ramon Magsaysay awardee for public service, says that because of their inferior education the women are left behind by their men in the race for economic progress.

"In Third World countries now, women are the ones who are farmers because the men have left the rural areas. And because these men have better education and skills, they move to the city. Women are the ones who stay behind to take care of the old, the young and sick," she explains.

A feminist educator and a People’s Deputy in China, Wu Qing believes that better education will allow rural women to improve their lives and still help in the important agricultural sector.

She arrived recently in Manila as a member of a small group of development experts from across Asia for the "Fifth External Forum on Gender and Development" at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The forum enables the ADB to tap into current thinking on regional gender issues and maintain a dialog with experts from both government and non-government organizations on its gender programs and activities. With the forum, the ADB hopes to develop key strategies for improving the status of women in the Asia—Pacific region.

Wu Qing has been an inspiration to Chinese women as a woman doing a "man’s job."

As People’s Deputy to the Haidian District People’s Congress of Beijing, she is the voice of her constituents, living up to a provision in the Chinese constitution for deputies to "maintain close contact with their constituents, listen and convey their opinions and work hard to serve them."

One of her projects is a Women’s Hotline, which provides counseling on issues like divorce, marriage, law, family planning and childcare.

Her example as a woman who has achieved success in such a male-dominated field as politics has inspired women in China to become more vocal about their needs.

"Definitely, a woman can be effective politically, as long as she is a person of integrity and supported by her constituents," she says.

But Wu Qing also believes that for true empowerment to become a reality a woman’s high-level success must be matched by an increase in the ability of women at the lower rungs of society to make decisions.

She has made a strong push for the education of Chinese women to enable them to take an active part in decision-making and the fight for equality.

"That’s why women empowerment is very important. We encourage women to get involved in decision-making projects. It’s so important for women … to have gender equality awareness," she says.

It was her belief in gender equality that drove her to become a professor at the Beijing Foreign Studies University for 40 years. In the late ‘70s, she became famous as China’s English teacher through her regular show on state television.

Wu Qing is currently a gender specialist for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is a leader in a number of national and international organizations.

In China she serves as the Chair of the Chinese Women’s Health Network, director of Rural Women Knowing All Practical Skills Training Center, advisor to a monthly magazine for rural women, and member of the Chinese Women’s Development Foundation. Abroad she sits as a board member of Gender Action in Washington DC, Vice President of the Women’s World Summit Foundation in Geneva and Honorary Chair of the Women’s Intercultural Network in San Francisco.

Besides receiving the Ramon Magsaysay award, she is also the recipient of a Schwab Foundation award as a Social Entrepreneur in 2003. She has received teaching awards in China and her work has been cited in China for its focus on the rights of peasants.

Wu Qing admits that despite progress, her country still has "a long way to go" to achieve equality between men and women.

"The thing is sometimes we don’t have enough gender awareness. And it’s important for people to know about their rights as well as their responsibility. People don’t care about their rights until something happens," she says.