International - Globescan   

Drive for women's rights

BEIJING: Two hundred students from over 20 universities and colleges in Beijing have become youth volunteers advocating the concept of ``a girl is as good as a boy,'' particularly in rural areas. At the initiation ceremony of the programme, Ma Ming, executive chairman of the Beijing Student Federation, said the volunteers would work to ensure respect for and protection of women's legal rights when they return to their hometowns during the summer holidays. They will also take part in a survey on the living conditions of girls, a move designed to offer suggestions on handling China's rising sex ratio imbalance. In China, especially in its vast countryside, sons are traditionally preferred which has resulted in many prospective parents electing to have an abortion if tests show the foetus to be a girl. As a result, there are 119 boys born for every 100 girls in China, much higher than a global ratio of 102-107 boys for 100 girls. Zhang Weiqing, Minister in Charge of the State Commission for Population and Family Planning, said the rising gender imbalance was not unique to China, but the country would learn from other countries' experience and work for a world of gender equality. — Xinhua

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