Leaders | Clouds over the sky

China says it defends women’s rights. So why attack feminists?

If women are not allowed to organise, they will struggle to achieve equality

Oct 28th 2021

“WE NEED TO strive for genuine gender equality.” So declared China’s leader, Xi Jinping, at the UN last year. It is a cause the Communist Party has long said it cares deeply about. Mao Zedong once proclaimed that “Women hold up half the sky.” And China’s women have indeed made progress. The World Economic Forum places their country below most of the rich world in terms of equality for women, but well above Japan and India.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Clouds over the sky”