In China, 20% of married women say they regret their union
According to an official study, 20% of married women in China say they regret their union.
In nearly a decade, the number of unhappy Chinese women living in households has more than doubled.
AFP - JOHANNES EISELE
Text by: Stéphane Lagarde Follow
4 min
According to an official study, 20% of married women in China say they regret their union.
This figure is not necessarily higher than elsewhere, but it is rising sharply.
In nearly a decade, the number of unhappy Chinese women living in households has more than doubled.
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from our correspondent in Beijing
They said "yes" and today regret it a little, a lot, even madly.
These 20% of women tired of playing wives and columbines were identified during a survey published on April 21 and carried out in 2020 among 100,000 households, by the national statistics office, the Chinese post office and the Peking University.
They were 12% in 2017 to regret their union, far ahead of men.
Only 7% of husbands in China say they are unhappy in their relationship.
Divorce on the rise
This reason for dissatisfaction is not unique to China.
In 2018, a third of married Americans said they
would not let the ring be re-ironed if it had to be redone
.
But what is striking here is the surge of rejection.
These statistics indeed accompany the number of divorces on the rise also despite the introduction of a so-called “cooling off” period of thirty days before couples
can register their separations
.
This survey also comes after months of confinement linked to the health crisis which, far from causing a baby boom, were marked by
an increase in domestic violence
.
This survey finally resonates with the emancipation of Chinese women who,
like their South Korean neighbors
, no longer want the
burden of marriage within the framework of “Asian values”
and the
“husband and parents-
in-
law” package
in megalopolises that are expensive to live in, especially in terms of children's education.
Women are also subject to birth pressure from the government, after the abolition of the one-child policy in 2015
Lack of task sharing
Among the reasons for dissatisfaction, the sharing of household chores or rather the non-sharing of domestic work. “
Chinese women invest a lot of time and energy in their families, often much more than their husbands
,” says Huang Yuqin.
Dissatisfaction arises when the responsibilities of the two parties are incoherent
”, continues this professor of sociology at the University of Science and Technology of East China quoted by the
South China Morning Post
.
Since the beginning of this year, several divorce proceedings have resulted in compensation awarded to ex-wives for unpaid work performed in the household.
These court rulings have sparked
heated debates on social media
between proponents and opponents of home work sharing.
Not sure that these court decisions are enough to revive the institution of marriage in an aging China.
Compensation of 50,000 yuan (6,500 euros) awarded to a stay-at-home mother during divorce proceedings in Beijing arouses controversy on Chinese social networks https://t.co/b7UQyvukm3
- Stéphane Lagarde (@StephaneLagarde) February 23, 2021
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