Tragic Deaths Total Choi And Women In China's Henan Picu Reactions, Ideas Of Not Marrying Are Considered Safer

Illustration (Emma Bauso/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Two cases of the murder of a well-known woman in recent times have sparked various reactions on Chinese social media against the promotion of marriage from the government. Many think women get too little protection from domestic violence. Two murder cases that sparked the reaction of Chinese netizens were the deaths of a 24-year-old woman in rural Henan province who was stabbed to death by her husband during last week's "family dispute". "After that he (the perpetrator) was arrested," the authorities said. The second case waste Choi, a 28-year-old socialite and model that was mutilated. The victim's ex-husband and two family members were arrested on suspicion of murder. The killing of women from the opposite end of social spectrum rocked social media, with more and more people questioning the government's call to marriage and more babies to offset the demographic crisis in China. "If you're not married, you're beaten by your husband. If you're married, your husband beats you. If you're divorced, your ex-husband beats you. What's going on with this world?" one community member wrote on the Weibo platform. "Unregistered and not having children is the safest," said another netizen who posted. The hashtag Weibo "a 24-year-old woman died after being stabbed eight times by her husband" recording more than 200 million views on Tuesday alone. Media said the victim in Henan, surnamed Yang and had two small children. Social media videos circulating on Monday showed dozens of angry residents in the victim's hometown clashed with police, although Reuters was unable to verify the location of the footage. Traditional ideas about marriage and family obligations remain strong in China despite many young people starting to question this. Several social media posters highlight the difficulty of leaving a violent marriage after the imposition of a mandatory "calm time" for 30 days in 2021 for couples who want to divorce. Many have also criticized "priority men rather than women". A conservative mindset common in parts of rural China, which poses a striking gender imbalance in China's population due to sex-selective abortion over decades of one child policy The country has about 722 million men compared to 690 million women. China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades. The two killings are the latest incidents that raise angry questions about women's treatment. Last year, reports of a mother of eight found chains in a warehouse in Jiangsu province and a widely shared video of a group of female visitors beaten by several men in the northern city of Tangshan sparked outrage and debate over violence against women. Last October China passed a new women's protection law targeting gender discrimination and sexual harassment, although the law also calls on women to "respect family values". The legislation comes as activists express concern about rising government rhetoric promoting the role of traditional women, seen by some as a setback for women's rights.