Guangdong province mulls women's courses to teach self-respect, dangers of over-reliance on money

Authorities in Guangdong province will offer crash courses for girls to learn about self-respect and fight the worrying trend of hooking up with "sugar daddies".

Lei Yulan, vice-governor and director of Guangdong's working committee on children and women, announced the plan at a symposium on March 28.

During the event, Miao Meixian, the former principal of Guangdong Female Technical Secondary School, criticized the phenomenon in which many female college students and graduates become mistresses or marry older men just for money.

These young women were making such choices partly because of flaws in the education system, Miao said.

A development plan for women and children for the next decade will help tackle the problem, Lei says.

The pilot project in Guangdong is aimed at educating girls in middle and elementary schools to avoid depending on older, richer men and to stand on their own feet.

"The education for women will focus on self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance and self-improvement, and the committee will work with representatives from the education and health fields as well as the women's federation to design the course," Lei says.

The style, content and teaching material for the course have not been decided but the trial is expected to begin with the publication and implementation of a 10-year plan during the third quarter of this year, a committee official says.

Sociologists say the program should be extended nationwide.

"It is essential for girls in different age brackets to receive education that help with a more well-rounded development," says Li Xia, an anthropologist in women's studies and a senior editor at the Beijing-based Commercial Press.

According to a recent online poll conducted by China Youth Daily, nearly 60 percent of respondents knew peers who wanted to marry or rely on rich and powerful men as a way to realize personal goals. Nearly half of the respondents were born after 1980.

"Several years ago, I thought I could realize my dream through my own efforts, but that was so naive," says a 28-year-old woman surnamed Zhang, who works in the administration department of a Fortune 500 company in Shanghai.

"Cruel reality showed me that those who were born into rich families can rely on parents, and those who were born in average families like me can only count on a wealthy man," Zhang says.

Many women of marriageable age also say they preferred to marry a rich man who has a house and car.

Still, some students say exposing youngsters to such issues can pose more risks than benefits.

"Mentioning topics like as marrying rich men or being a mistress may suggest ideas to young girls that they had previously not thought about," says Shen Xiaoqing, an 18-year-old female student at Guangzhou Zhixin Middle School.

Some researchers also say such a program is unlikely to dissuade people from marrying for money.

"Wanting to rely on rich men is a complicated social phenomenon caused by various factors, and it is wrong to attribute it solely to personal immorality," Li Xia says.

Li says that if society does not provide people who are less well off with opportunities, it is natural that they will look at marriage as a shortcut.

Some researchers of youth problems also suggest that the content and scale of the education should differ according to the age of the students.

"It makes no sense to preach moral values to a 6-year-old girl, while it is essential for female students who are about to graduate to be convinced of the importance of women's development and self-respect," says Zhang Wenjuan, deputy director of Beijing Children's Legal Aid and Research Center.

Instead of directing the classes at girls, researchers also say these should be developed for both genders.

"From 1912-1949, there were specific courses and textbooks on civic education for people in the country," Li Xia says.

"If all students learn about honor and disgrace, it will achieve greater results and unhealthy social values will be effectively resisted," Li says.

Parents' opinions are also important in any attempt to extend such education to other parts of the country, researchers say.

"We once opened a similar course on female education in a middle school in Beijing, but it ended before long because of parents' objection," says Lu Tianlong, vice-chairman of the Beijing Association on Education for Sustainable Development.

"They did not think it was proper to mention such topics to young girls in school."

"It is better to give lessons at home," says Fan Linfeng, a veteran 12th grade teacher at Beijing-based High School attached to the Capital Normal University.

"Family environment and parental influence play a bigger role in children's marriage and love."