"My village in Hebei should have more than 1,500 people but about 500 - mostly men - have left to work in cities. The women left behind shoulder almost the whole sky. They have to take care of elderly people and children. There should be a mothers' classroom in which these women can study and widen their horizons."

Yang Xiuhua, NPC deputy and Party secretary of Liaochangzi village, Hebei province

"For both rural women whose husbands work in cities and young girls whose fathers are migrant workers, there is a high risk of being sexually assaulted. Village committees and schools should be assigned the responsibility of protecting these vulnerable women from sexual abuse. For left-behind women, sexual abuse adds salt to their wounds."