A poster in a government office in Xicheng Disctrict in Beijing sparked protests over its sexist and gender-biased contents.
"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?" said the poster placed in the registration office of the Civil Affairs Bureau in Xicheng District last week.
The poster, which angered many women activists, sparked a demonstration asking for its immediate removal. The Civil Affairs Authorities took it down the very next day, still denying though that it was discriminatory and reiterating that the poster only represented traditional values.
Women all over China that felt slighted by the poster and by the bureau's lack of remorse took to the Internet to voice their opinions on what has transpired. Among those inflamed was Liu Minghui, a law professor at China Women's University, who wrote an article published lambasting the contents of the poster and what it portrays.
Liu cited three different points as to why the poster was clearly biased against women. For one, the poster not only cements the traditional and dated belief that women are inferior to men, having women only good for the kitchen and the home and for nothing else.
The professor also stated that the dissemination of government-approved gender-biased material only furthers sexism. This limits women from choosing their own paths, making them basically slaves to their husbands.
Lastly, according to the article, the lack of education on gender equality trumps the gender neutrality the government supposedly adheres to. The policy of gender equality does not change the deeply ingrained "traditional values."
"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," wrote Liu.