Women in Asia used to be held to traditional standards and a strict hierarchy in which they were the lowest tier. Now they are usually well-educated and employed, though some traditional roles are still prominent in Asian culture, such as the pressure to find a husband and create/care for a family. Women could vote, choose their spouses and career, own property, and gain full custody of their children. Legally, few obstacles remain in women's social and professional life. However, gender inequality can still be observed in traditional, time-honored values as well as in family life.
Japan | "Christmas Cake Syndrome"
Christmas cakes are sold on December 25, and after that date the cakes are thrown away because they are no longer fresh. The same is said to be true of women: If a woman is over twenty-five and still single, then she should worry about her depreciating value in the marriage market. Along these lines, women are expected to work until age twenty-five and then retire to a life of domesticity. - Japanese Language Blog http://blogs.transparent.com/japanese/the-view-of-women-in-japan/ China
"Sheng Nu" or "Leftover Woman" The pressure is huge for women to find a husband to marry and have a family with. In this video, it shows how parents host a fair for their daughters in order to find them a husband. The parents seem to have lost hope in their daughter ever marrying and just because their daughter has no prospective husband, they look down on her as ugly, useless, and not very intelligent. The women in the video show how the traditional values are still prevalent to this day and how they will no longer tolerate the treatment. |
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