This thesis examines the position of women in urban families during the Mao Era (1949–1976). Before the 20th century, the foundation of Chinese culture had been laid upon the Confucian ideology, which placed women in an inferior position. Even before seizing power, Mao Zedong had already been enthusiastic about the issue of the emancipation of women. He believed women were the key to solving the workforce shortage. After becoming the president of China, he, therefore, made sure to integrate women into the workforce, which allowed many urban women to leave their homes for the first time. The integration of women into the labour force offered urban women to be financially independent and re-established the social position of a woman, which then influenced a change in her role within the family. This was further influenced by the Marriage Law that came into effect in 1950. The law granted Chinese women numerous rights which were unknown to them before. The law prohibited arranged marriage, introduced a minimal marriage age and enabled women divorce rights and family property rights. The paper researches how the role of women in urban areas moved further from the traditional Confucius roles, based on women’s obedience to their husbands, and to what extent the position of women evened out with one of the men.
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