Post-Beijing reflections: Creating ripples, but not waves in China

Abstract

Abstract Media coverage of the Fourth World Conference on Women tended to focus on the tight security arrangements in China and the restrictions on expression at the conference site, at the expense of the principal themes debated such as equality, development, and peace. Furthermore, reporters tended to highlight the problems of human rights abuse and the controversial themes of Tibet and family planning at the expense of a consideration of the impact of the event on gender policy and organisation in China. It is the purpose of this article to add another dimension to our understanding of the value of the Conference and in particular to explore the impact of this grand meeting on women's organisations in China. The article begins with a general discussion of the role of state women's agencies in addressing gender inequities and then focusses on the case of the All-China Women's Federation, the official body representing women in China. In the second section the contribution of the Conference to the process of change within the All-China Women's Federation is explored. This is followed by a discussion of the catalytic effect of the Conference on the development of non-governmental women's organisations. Policy and research into gender issues has also been galvanised as a result of the preparations for the meeting and this is taken up in the fourth part. Finally the article reflects upon the prospects for change in the institutional make-up of gender policy, research and activism.