Wu Qing
Organization: Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women
Year Founded: 1993
Country: People's Republic of China
Website: www.nongjianv.org
The organization supports the social development of rural Chinese girls and women through practical skills training as well as civic participation, thereby their enabling economic independence and political empowerment. Focus: Women, Education, Civic Participation Geographic Area of Impact: China Model: Leveraged Non-Profit Number of Direct Beneficiaries: 214,048 (cumulative) Annual Budget: US$ 1.3 million (2009) Recognition: Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum Background As Chinese society modernizes and globalizes, women’s roles and rights continue to be dominated by tradition, especially in rural areas. Women comprise the majority of the inhabitants in rural areas – changing their mindsets will substantially change the country. The Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women has been a strong advocate of women’s rights in China for decades. Since the mid-1980s it has helped many confront problems of family, marriage, divorce, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Innovation and Activities The Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women focuses on grassroots training projects on citizenship, gender, social responsibility, and legal and political participation. The belief is that women are the trainers of future generations and the centre of the Chinese movement towards democracy. Set up in 1998 under the Beijing Cultural Development Center, the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women provides training that will enable women from poor families to learn practical skills, which will ultimately help them improve their social and economic development and participate fully in society. Since April 1999, over 9,182 women and girls from different ethnic groups have participated in a number of the training centre’s programmes. Other activities for rural women run by the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women include classes on literacy, suicide prevention and political participation as well as a domestic workers support network and a migrant women’s group. The Entrepreneur Wu Qing is a role model for many Chinese women and politicians. To accomplish her vision of women empowerment and rule of law, she has had to consistently think outside of the box while being within the box. Wu has been a legislator since 1984, having been democratically elected seven terms as the People’s Deputy to the Haidian District People’s Congress. She has also served four terms in the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, the city’s parliament, from 1988-2007. As a democratically-elected Deputy, Wu has worked tirelessly to fight for the rights of people in general, and women in particular, using as her tool the Chinese Constitution. These have had a ripple effect upon Chinese society, especially in helping to build women’s entrepreneurial spirit from the grassroots level. Wu Qing helped set up the Rural Women Knowing All magazine in 1993 and then the Cultural Development Center for Rural Women in 2001. She also played a seminal role in ensuring that Chinese women participated in the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing.
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