여성NGO의 시민운동 참여 활성화 방안에 관한 연구 : YWCA운동을 중심으로

황기숙 연세대학교 행정대학원 2002 국내석사

21세기는 시민사회의 특성이 보다 강화되는 시대로 그 동안 국가에서 주도해온 정치, 경제, 사회 각 분야에서 다양한 시민단체의 영향력이 급신장 할 것으로 전망되는 한편, 21세기는 여성의 세기로 여성의 역할이 그 어느 때보다도 강조되고 있다. 하지만 우리나라의 시민사회는 아직도 가부장적인 성격을 내포하고 있기에, 새롭고 다양한 종류의 시민운동에 여성들의 적극적인 참여가 그 어느 때보다 요구된다. 여기에 여성NGO가 주체가 되어 기존의 단체활동의 지평을 넓혀 활성화시키는 방법과 여성 개개인이 다양한 시민단체에 참여하여 주류세력을 이루는 방법을 적극적으로 탐색하여야 할 것이다. 본 연구에서는 한국 여성NGO의 효시인 YWCA를 중심으로 전자에 중점을 둔 연구를 수행함으로써 여성 NGO의 시민운동 참여 활성화 방안을 모색해 보고자 하였다. 곧 여성NGO들이 시민운동에 적극적으로 참여할 수 있는 방안을 강구하는 동시에, 시민운동내의 여성 역할의 새로운 위상및 방향을 정립하고자 하였다. 본 연구는 전국 54개 회원YWCA 1,000여명의 실무자중 각 지역의 실무자수에 비례하여 무작위로 300여명을 추출하여 이들을 대상으로 하고, 설문은 우편교부방식을 원칙으로 하였다. 설문지는 요인분석과 T-test, 그리고 oneway-Anova analysis을 사용하여 각 변인간의 상관관계를 파악하였다. 본 연구에서 얻어진 조사결과를 요약 정리하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 한국사회에서 시민사회단체가 사회적으로 중요한 역할을 하고 있다고 인식하지만 국민들과 여성들의 시민운동에 참여하는 비율은 낮은 것으로 나타났다. YWCA의 시민운동참여와 관련하여는 적극적으로 참여하지 못하고, 사회변화를 이끌어가지 못하는 것으로 나타났으며 이는 자원봉사자 및 실무자의 시민운동에 대한 인식부족과, 방만한 백화점식 사업으로 전문성이 부족하고, 의사결정 과정에 있어서 신속성의 결여가 이유로 지적되었다. 둘째, 시민단체의 운영과 문화는 권위주의/학벌주의/능력주의 문화가 좀더 지배적인 것으로 조사되었으며 운영에 있어서는 목표를 중시하고, 팀형의 토론 지향적인, 대체로 민주적인 것으로 나타난 반면, 회원단체로써 회원의 참여가 활발하지 못한 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 여성NGO 활동가의 능력과 자질에 관하여는 책임감, 열의와 신념은 강한 반면, 추진력과 논리력, 리더쉽과 조직력은 약한 것으로 나타났고, 단체에서 경험하는 어려움은 육아, 전문성부족, 업무과다, 재충전의 기회부족 순이며, 이를 해결하기 위한 방안으로 여성활동가의 리더쉽 교육과 공보육제도를 실시가 개선방안으로 제시되었다. 넷째, YWCA의 타 단체와의 연대와 관련하여는 대체로 많이 하는 것으로 조사되었으며 타 여성단체와의 연대보다는 타 시민단체와의 연대가 더많은 것으로 나타났다. 연대에 있어서는 정회원Y가 준회원Y보다 더 많이 연대활동을 하고 있는 것으로 조사되었으며 단체간의 연대를 통해서 시민운동참여가 활성화 될 수 있는 것으로 나타났다. 다섯째, 앞으로 YWCA가 전개해야 할 시민운동 분야로는 새로운 분야의 확대보다는 지금까지 전개해온 사업 중 여성, 환경, 청소년분야에 중점을 두어 전개해야 하는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 연구 결과를 토대로 YWCA의 시민운동 참여 활성화 방안을 제시하면 다음과 같다. 1. YWCA는 이제 비판적이며 감시자적인 기능을 회복하여야 하며, 그것을 적극적으로 표현해야 한다. 2. YWCA는 회원들을 평등의식, 시민의식을 갖춘 21세기 시민으로 성장시키는 교육에 주력해야 한다. 3. 대안문명운동을 전개해야 한다. 생태적 세계관, 여성주의적 시각에선 운동과 삶의 실현 등을 통하여 새로운 문명을 일구어 내는 사회운동체로 나가야 한다. 4. YWCA는 여성운동으로서의 정체성을 확립해야 한다. 이제 여성은 여성과 남성으로서가 아니라 인간으로서의 역할이 강조되어 자신의 삶을 책임질 수 있는 사회변화의 주체가 되어야 한다. 그리고 21세기에 새롭게 대두되는 여성문제를 분별해야 하고, 새로이 이원화되어 성차별이 드러날 사회적 상황에서 주체적이며 도전적 시각을 갖는 능력 있는 여성시민운동의 전개를 더욱 필요로 하는 시대를 YWCA는 읽고 여성시민운동을 적극적으로 전개해야 할 것이다. 여성NGO인 YWCA가 시민운동에 참여 활성화를 위해서는 앞서 제시된 문제점을 해결하고 여성참여를 방해하는 장애요인을 제거하도록 해야 한다. 또한 성인지적인 시민단체 활동과 여성을 포함한 일반회원들의 참여동기를 증진시킬 수 있는 프로그램을 운영하도록 하여야 하며, 시민이 참여하고 시민이 함께 하는 여성NGO가 되도록 노력을 경주해야 할 것이다. 시민단체의 중요성이 강조되고 있는 요즈음 본 연구가 여성NGO의 시민운동 참여 활성화에 조금이나마 공헌하게 되기를 바라는 마음 간절하다. In the 21st century, the features of a civil society is increased. Instead of the state, a variety of the civil communities is expected to grow fast and excise influence over politics, economics, and society. The research is carried out focusing on the YWCA, which is the first instance of the Women's NGO in Korea. For purpose of the research, it is needed to search that women's NGO actively participates in the citizen movements and that the position and orientation of women's role is newly located in citizen movements. There is about 1000 people in active services of the 54 YWCA all over the country. As the subject of investigation, the sample group is made of 300 people who extracted, being proportionate to the number of them in each district. And the question for the target has to be by mail delivery. The questionnaire is constituted of the factor analysis, the T-text, and the one-way Anova analysis and makes the correlation among the variables clear. To summarize the result of study, the following is like these. 1. While the communities of civil society are considered to perform important roles in Korea, it shows the participant women among a nation at low rate. In relation to the participation in citizen movements by the YWCA, the attempt is generally investigated to be not led actively and the reason is the short understanding of volunteers and activists about the citizen movements, the lack of expertise in business expansion with indiscreet operation, and the lack of promptitude in process of determining intentions. The YWCA nearly keeps up with the social change, not leading it. 2. It is investigated that an authoritarianism, an academic clique, and an ability-centered principle are widespread in the operation and culture of civil communities and that the operation is only attached to the end. While the team works are democratic and frequently have discussion, these facts are revealed that the participation of members of the group is not active and that its monitoring system is very ineffective. 3. While the responsibility, the passion, and the faith is at high level in relation to the ability and quality of a activist as member of women's NGO, the driving force, logicality, leadership, the organizing ability is at low level. In relation to the difficulties within groups, nursing of infants, the lack of professionality, the overburdened work, and the lack of rechargeable time are come out in sequence. 4. There are many solidarities in relation to other communities. Rather than other women communities, the rest groups is preferred to solidify. For solidarities, the regular member of the YWCA is more active than the associate one. 5. In the future, the YWCA is to develop the existing business for women, environment, and the youth, not to create a new business. Up to now, although the YWCA has many features for the organization of citizen movements, it is not effective in social change at the present. The YWCA is to introspect about the lack of its ability and find the solution. On the basis on the results of the preceding research, the solution is following. 1. The YWCA is recovering the function to criticize and monitor and expressing positively. 2. The YWCA is concentrating it energy on the education to qualify its members with the senses of equality and citizenship. So they is growing to be the citizen of the 21th century. 3. The alternative movements of the civilization need to be developed. To manage the movements and one's life in view of the ecological thinking and feminism, the social organization with activities will be created and it is possible to establish a new civilization. 4. The YWCA must establish its identity as a women's movement. There are two important things. The first one is that woman is not for a gender, but a human being and have to be responsible for her own life by herself. Therefore woman needs to understand circumstances with a viewpoint of feminism. The second is that new problems of women in the 21st century are to be distinguished and that, as the dichotomy between genders and the sexual discrimination are more serious, the effective movements of women citizen need to be progressed with subjecthood and challenge. The YWCA is considering these flows and developing the women's movements. Recently, the civil communities are especially considered as a important part. This research may contribute to the activation of being joined in citizen movements by women's NGO.

Global communications in the information age : facilitating South Korean women's movement?

고사라 고려대학교 국제대학원 2016 국내석사

South Korea, as a relatively young democratic nation, has endured and experienced complex and diverse cultural, political, and social changes and revolutions since the end of the Korean War. From former President Park Chung- hee and his regime’s Saemaul Movement for drastic economic growth and unprecedented urbanization/industrialization in the 1960s and 1970s, rampant democracy and human rights campaigns and protests in the late 1980s, until the more recent introduction of “globalization of communication” in the 1990s, this small East Asian nation has been a part of a tumultuous and impressive modern history. In the midst of these transformations, redefining gender roles has become a significant part of the national and international human rights discourse. Hence, the paper focuses on a dynamic correlation of the South Korean women’s movement and the role global information age has played, is playing, and expected to play to further such human rights initiative.

Korean christian women leaders' self-understanding in the nationalist & women's movements 1885-1931

서현선 Claremont Graduate School 1997 해외박사

This paper deals with the problem of the inter-relationship of gender, nationalism, and Christianity in the construction of Korean Christian women leaders' self-identity. While present Korean feminist scholarship argues that Korean Christian women leaders' identity must remain consistent in terms of gender, religion, class and nationalism, the leaders themselves responded practically rather than consistently to their complex situation. The early twentieth century Korean women leaders constructed their identity through the interweaving experiences of the colonialism, nationalism, western education, Christian conversion, and the Western women's movement. Until the March First Independence Movement in 1919, many of women leaders in the nationalist and women's movements were educated Christians, such as Louis Yim, Helen Kim, and Induk Pahk, who favored Western knowledge and power. However, after the failure of the national independence, the movement was divided into the socialist nationalists and Protestant cultural nationalists because they realized that the western powers, especially the U.S.A, had no concern for Korean matters. The goal of Korean socialist nationalists was to achieve national independence through the revolution. The Korean socialist women, leaders such as Chung-sook Huh and Chong-myung Chung, and Won-hee Park, also had a vision to liberate Korean women from colonialism and patriarchy by the construction of the communist society in Korea. Both Protestant Cultural Nationalist Women and the Socialist Women agreed that the national liberation and the women's emancipation must be achieved together. They, however, disagreed about who were subject in the movements and how their goals were to be achieved. More recently, post-colonial Korean feminists have turned to the early 20th century women's movement to search for the right direction for the Korean women's movements. While present scholars focus on the ideological argument by Christian and socialist women leaders, a more sympathetic understanding of the Korean Christian women leaders requires a more nuanced understanding of the formation of self-identity. Therefore, I will try to show the process of the construction of Korean Christian women leaders's identity through examining their autobiography and its socio-historical backgrounds. By writing their autobiographies, three Korean Christian women leaders attempted to represent their self-identity as a consistent devout Christian, a nationalist fighter, a modern educated women and a pioneer of women's movement. While contemporary Korean feminist scholarship criticizes Korean Christian women's lack of class consciousness and their emphasis on the Western religion and Western education, none of three autobiographers shows wholesale acceptance of Western culture and religion, but rather they tried to reconstruct national and their own identities with the help of modern education and new religion, because they found little hope in traditional Korean culture and resources to overcome the colonial and patriarchal contradiction. In fact, Korean Christian women's self-understanding was constructed by the interplay of gender, nationalism, and Christianity. These three elements did not always play a positive role in constructing the feminist consciousness of Korean Christian leaders. By examining the flip sides of nationalistic and Christian ideologies, this paper will contribute to correcting both the contemporary historians' misinterpretation of the early Christian women leaders and our own misconception of the Christian feminist consciousness.

1920年代 社會主義女性運動의 組織과 活動

박혜란 梨花女子大學校 大學院 1993 국내석사

해방 후 여성신문 연구 : 『부인신보』((1947-1950)를 중심으로

조영숙 韓國外國語大學校 國際地域大學院 2021 국내석사

This study examines the Korean women's movement and the political strategies of feminist leaders, in the years following Korea’s independence from Japan. I analyze the women’s newspapers Buin shinbo, which was published from 1947 to 1950, and was one of the few newspapers at that time directed towards a female audience. As the articles and editorials in Buin shinbo make clear, feminist leaders viewed political participation as a sole and necessary strategy in the achievement of women’s rights. This focus on political participation outside of the domestic sphere put the women’s movement as reflected in Buin shinbo in stark contrast with the women’s enlightenment movement. The years following colonial Chosun’s liberation from Japan were dominated by both national and international conflicts, and the divisions during this unsettling period led to the Korean War. Hence, research on the women's movement during this period has been limited. Buin shinbo allows us to see the limitations placed on women during this critical liberation period and the value women leaders placed on political participation. During this period, Korean women faced social, legal, and political restrictions; the idea of women’s rights, or female suffrage, was nonexistent in Korea. Even more so, the turbulence of this period as regards the establishment of a government and the national unification surpassed the question of women’s rights and the goals of the women’s movement. Feminist leaders had to emphasize the role of women in the family while advocating for women's liberation. Emphasizing a women’s role at home had the potential to highlight the necessary and important role women played in society, thus accentuating the value women play in Korean society. In turn, such an esteemed valuation could be parlayed into an argument for women’s rights in the public sphere. However, as the female leaders of Buin shinbo express, the strategy of the women’s enlightenment campaign was not sufficient for securing women’s rights. The best way to obtain women’s rights was to participate in the National Assembly to enact laws for women. The political goals of the feminist leaders in the public sphere were the way of the women’s movement, not idealized versions of femininity.

현행 고등학교 『한국사』 교과서의 근대여성운동 서술에 관한 비판적 검토

최지원 서강대학교 교육대학원 2024 국내석사

아시아 여성 농민들의 씨앗 지키기 운동 : 한국의 전여농과 인도의 나바단야를 중심으로

굽타 서울대학교 대학원 2020 국내석사

‘씨앗 지키기’라는 농업 관습은 전세계 농촌 사회에서 여성농민의 주역할이었다. 그러나 20세기를 비롯해 식민화, 산업화, 녹색혁명, 세계화 과정 등에서 농식품제도가 변화하면서 전통 씨앗과 함께 이 관습도 사라지고 있는 것이다. 본 논문은 이 관습을 되살리고 있는 한국 전국여성농민연합총회의 ‘토종씨앗지키기 운동’과 인도 나바단야의 ‘씨앗 지키기 운동’을 실행하고 있는 여성 농민들 대상해 현장 연구와 개인 인터뷰를 통해서 이 소위 ‘낙후된’ 관습을 되찾은 이유를 알고자 했다. 연구 결과, 여성농민들은 씨앗을 지키는 이유 중 첫째는 소득 보장이었다. 이는 여성농민들은 씨앗 지키고 농사 짓는 일의 토대로 스스로 생계를 유지할 수 있고 이 운동은 하나의 소득 원천이 되었다는 것이다. 이는 식량주권의 담론을 넘어 해당 단체의 현실적인 토종 판매 네트워크가 존재하기 때문이다. 두번째는 ‘여성 농민의 지위 향상 또는 공동체 형성’이며 이는 농업에서 본 자리를 잃은 여성농민들에게 자신의 지위를 향상할 수 있는 기회를 주며 여성들의 ‘차매애’로 통해 산업화 과정에서 파괴된 농촌 공동체를 되찾는 것을 볼 수 있었다. 세번째는 ‘토종씨앗 지키기와 여성 농민의 문화적 기억, 건강과 환경’이다. ‘문화적 기억’은 토종 농산물을 둘러싼 요리, 식생활, 관습, 농사 방식 등을 포함한 말이다. 이와 덧붙어 여성 농민과 그들의 가정의 건강 또는 환경을 보호하는 마음은 토종 씨앗을 지키게 된 이유 중 하나로 확인되었다. 인도와 한국의 여성이 씨앗을 지키게 된 동기부여가 유사하게 나온 만큼 현재 농식품체제로 인해 삶의 문제를 겪고 있는 농민은 어느 한 개발도상국에 있는 것이 아니며 소위 ‘낙후된’ 관습을 고도성장하는 인도 또는 급속한 개발과정 끝에 ‘선지국’으로 손꼽히는 한국에서도 찾을 수 있는 것이 현재 세계의 농민층, 특히 여성 농민이 취약해진 상황에 놓여있는 것을 보여주고 있다. 본 연구에서 아시아의 두 가지의 여성농민운동이 보여주는 ‘농민 문제’는 초국가적 과정으로 인해서 생긴 것만큼 앞으로 나가야 할 대안의 길도 초국가적일 수 있다. The agricultural practice of seed-saving has been one of the central tasks shouldered by women in rural farming-based societies across the world. However, with the onset of twentieth century, events like colonialism, industrialization, green revolution and globalization caused a fundamental shift in the agricultural and food systems of the world, especially in newly independent countries like India and South Korea. Food consumed worldwide is increasingly based on fewer crop varieties and seeds have widely become a commodity. As such, the majority of indigenous seeds have been lost and the practice of seed-saving has seen a rapid decline. This paper attempts to study two indigenous seed-saving movements by the women members and peasants of Korean Women’s Peasant Association (KWPA) in South Korea and the women-based non-governmental organization Navdanya, in India. The paper also seeks to answer why the members of these two organizations chose to seed-save indigenous varieties of crops, in spite of it being considered a “backward” or “pre-developmental” practice, by analyzing textual materials produced by these organizations and conducting personal interviews conducted at KWPA centers in Hoengseong (Gangwon-do) and Geochang (Gyeongsangnam-do) in South Korea and at Navdanya biodiversity farm in Uttarakhand, India. Three similar reasons could be identified from the respondents’ answers across the two organizations. The first amongst them was the need for livelihood. Partaking in the movements proved to be a source of income contributing to women’s livelihoods. Over and above the discourse of food sovereignty, the movements were seen to have realistic market networks which enabled the women to get a fair price for their indigenous crop produce. The second reason was seen to be women’s need for strengthening their status and developing new community bonds. With the loss of indigenous seeds, women lost their important seed-saving role in rural society. In addition, during the development period in Korea, most men and young women from rural villages and towns moved to the cities in search for work which resulted both in the ‘feminization’ and displacement of rural communities. Such a phenomena can also be witnessed in India presently. Therefore, it was seen that the mobilization of women under the cause of seed-saving and the sharing of seeds developed bonds of ‘sisterhood’ equipping the women with the solidarity required for lobbying and protesting for the various causes relevant to rural women and also created a sense of community that had fast evaporated in their respective towns and villages. The third and final cause was the women’s need to preserve cultural memory, health and the environment. Preserving local food culture, rituals and other practices surrounding indigenous crops was an important factor for women of both organizations in preserving seeds. In addition, in the face of polluting influence of fertilizer/weedicide-heavy hybrid and GMO farming, the preservation of their local environment and health of their families proved to be important concerns as well. While there exist vast differences between the two countries and organizations, all of these three major reasons were largely similar, proving that the present food and agriculture sector has caused distress to peasants worldwide, especially women peasants in the global south. In spite of India being one of the fastest developing countries in the world and South Korea joining the list of developed countries of OECD, the position of women peasants in both of these countries has been affected negatively by the events of twentieth century as well as corporate monopolization of food and agricultural market, unfair trade policies and the commodification of natural resources like seeds and hence, they are engaging in food and seed sovereignty movements like saving indigenous seeds. Similarities between these two women-based movements from two Asian countries throw light at the transnational nature of the problem of agriculture in the present age and as such, suggests that the way forward may also be transnational.

세계 페미니즘에 비추어 본 중국 여성운동의 문제점과 해결책

Liu, Jinming 연세대학교 대학원 2024 국내석사

성별 불평등은 인류 역사와 함께 오래도록 지속되어 왔다. 특히 노예사회와 봉건사회에서는 여성이 국가의 정치 활동에 참여할 기회가 거의 없었으며, 여성을 하나의 집단으로 볼 때 그들의 정치적 참여는 매우 제한적이었다. 그러나 근대 이후, '민주주의, 평등, 자유'라는 기치 아래 여성들의 집단 의식이 각성하면서, 여성들은 가정을 나와 국가 경제와 사회생활에 적극적으로 참여하기 시작했다. 이러한 변화는 페미니즘 운동에 힘을 실어주었고, 여성들은 남성이 독점하던 정치 영역으로 진출할 것을 요구하며 목소리를 높였다. 이 과정에서 페미니즘은 남성의 신사다움을 재정의하는 기준이 되기도 했다.오늘날 대다수 국가에서 여성은 남성과 동등한 정치 참여권을 갖다. 서방 일부 국가에서는 여성 정치인들이 내각의 절반 가까이를 차지하며, 국내외 정치 무대에서 중요한 역할을 수행하고 있다. 이러한 변화는 여성이 단지 사회적, 경제적 참여자에 그치지 않고, 정치적 리더로서도 그 역량을 인정받고 있음을 보여준다. 이는 성 평등의 진전을 상징하는 중요한 변화이며, 여성의 권리와 기회의 확대가 계속해서 진행되어야 함을 강조한다. 중국 여성들이 집단으로서 정치 참여를 호소하고 행동에 나선 것은 세계 페미니즘의 영향이 중국에 전파된 후, 특히 중국 공산당의 수립과 중화인민공화국의 건국 이후부터이다. 신중국이 건국된 후, 당과 국가는 여성의 정치적 및 법적 지위 향상에 큰 관심을 기울였으며, 일련의 중요한 법률과 규정을 공포했다. 이러한 법률과 규정은 남녀 평등을 입법 원칙의 하나로 삼아 여성의 다양한 권리를 명확히 규정하고 있으며 이를 통해 중국 여성의 정치 참여를 강력하게 보장하고 있다.한때 "시대가 달라졌다, 남녀는 똑같다"와 "여성은 하늘의 절반을 차지할 수 있다"는 구호가 중국 땅에서 울려 퍼졌으며, "반쪽 하늘"은 한때 중국 여성을 상징하는 대명사가 되었다. 1995년에는 남녀 평등이 '기본 국책'으로 정착되었다. 이러한 변화는 중국 여성의 정치적 지위와 참여 수준을 크게 향상시켰으며, 여성은 국가 정치 생활에서 중요한 역할을 하게 되었다. 그러나 중국 여성 운동의 겉모습에는 여전히 난감한 면이 존재한다. 중국 여성 운동은 사회적으로 점점 더 활발해지고 있지만, 정치 참여, 언론, 취업 등 여러 분야에서 여전히 많은 문제가 남아 있다. 여성은 가정의 안정을 유지하고 사회 발전을 촉진하는 가장 기초적인 역할을 한다. 여성의 권리는 그들의 지위와 삶의 질과 직접 연결되어 있으며, 역사적, 문화적, 경제적 요인으로 인해 중국 여성의 권리 의식은 상대적으로 늦게 형성되었으며, 그 실현 과정에서 다수의 도전에 직면해왔다. 현대 사회로 접어들면서도 남녀 간의 실질적인 불평등은 여전히 사회 진보의 주요 장애물로 작용하고 있다. 페미니즘은 서양에서 기원했지만, 동양 국가인 중국에서의 페미니즘 발전은 서양과는 다른 독특한 특성과 과정을 지니고 있다. 본 연구는 중국에서 페미니즘의 관점을 토대로 중국의 발전 특성 및 중국과 서양 페미니즘의 차이점을 탐구한다. 또한, 중국에서 페미니즘이 확산되는 과정에서 발생한 주요 사건들을 결합하여, 정치 참여, 교육, 취업, 결혼 및 출산권 등의 측면에서 중국 페미니즘을 분석한다. 이 연구는 현재 상황과 존재하는 문제들, 그리고 해결책을 세 가지 주요 측면에서 조명하며, 그 목적은 여성 권리 실현을 위한 충분하고 객관적인 기반을 제공함과 동시에 중국 사회의 다양한 분야 발전에 기여하는 것이다.이러한 접근은 중국의 사회적, 문화적 맥락을 고려하여 페미니즘의 글로벌 원리를 적용하고, 중국 여성이 직면한 고유한 문제에 대한 이해를 심화시키고자 한다. Inequality between men and women has been a longstanding historical issue. In societies characterized by slavery and male chauvinism, women have historically been excluded from participating in national political activities. However, with the rise of modern democratic ideals promoting equality and freedom, women, who represent half of the population, have increasingly developed a collective consciousness. As they have ventured out of their homes to actively engage in national economic and social life, there has also been a growing demand for inclusion in the male-dominated political sphere. The concept of "feminism" has even become a measure of societal progress. Today, in most countries around the world, women have equal rights to participate in politics alongside men. In some Western nations, female politicians hold up to half of the cabinet positions and play significant roles on both national and international political stages alongside their male counterparts. Chinese women collectively responded to the introduction of modern Western feminist thought in China, particularly after the establishment of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Following the founding of New China, there was increased focus from both the Party and state on enhancing the political and legal status of women, leading to the promulgation of a series of significant laws and regulations. These legislative measures prioritize gender equality as a fundamental principle and explicitly outline women's rights, thereby providing strong legal guarantees for Chinese women's political participation. Phrases such as "times have changed, men and women are equal" and "women can hold up half the sky" resonated throughout China for a period, with "half the sky" becoming synonymous with Chinese women. In 1995, gender equality was further established as a "basic national policy". As a result, there has been substantial improvement in both the political status and participation of Chinese women, who have played pivotal roles in shaping their country's political landscape. However, despite these advancements, it is important to acknowledge that there are still various challenges facing Chinese women in terms of their involvement in politics, public opinion representation, and employment opportunities. The facade of progress cannot conceal these underlying issues within the Chinese women's movement which continues to evolve within society towards greater enlightenment. Women are foundational to maintaining family stability and fostering societal development. The status and conditions of women's lives are intimately connected to their rights. Hindered by historical, cultural, and economic factors, the awareness of women's rights in China emerged relatively late, and the path toward realizing these rights has been fraught with challenges. Even in contemporary society, palpable inequalities between men and women continue to impede social progress. While feminism originated in the West, it has undergone a distinct evolution in China, an Eastern country with its own unique context. This paper explores the development of feminism in China from a feminist perspective, analyzing the particular traits of its evolution and delineating the differences between Chinese and Western feminism. It addresses the impact of feminism's proliferation within China, examining the subsequent societal reactions and policy changes. Specifically, this study categorizes the status of women's rights in China into several domains: political participation, education, employment, marriage, and childbirth rights.It methodically examines the current conditions, identifies persisting challenges, and proposes strategic solutions aimed at ameliorating these issues. The ultimate goal of this research is to furnish a robust, objective foundation for the advancement of women's rights, thereby contributing to the broader development of various societal sectors in China. This analysis not only highlights the specific obstacles faced by Chinese women but also underscores the potential pathways for enhancing their roles within both public and private spheres.

Explaining the legalization of indigenous women’s gender-specific claims : a comparative case study of the constituent processes of ecuador (1997-98) and bolivia (2006-07)

권율 Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Graduate Sch 2016 국내석사

Democracy and Political Subjectivization : Women's Movements in South Korea Since 2016

안솔비 서울대학교 대학원 2021 국내석사

South Korea has seen a successful consolidation of democracy ever since its democratization in the late 1980s. However, the impact of democracy in terms of equality has been skewed, especially lacking in the field of women’s rights and gender equality. This thesis focuses on the two prominent events in the recent years that have shifted the direction of gender discourse in the Korean politics—the Gangnam Station Femicide case of 2016 and the Me Too movement of 2018—reinterpreting their importance through the political philosophy of Jacques Rancière. The reading of recent events as a process of political subjectivization of women allows interpreting the current conflicts in Korea not as a threat but an opportunity for greater equality and democracy. However, the prospect is not all optimistic as the unfolding of women’s subjectivization severely relies on the mechanisms of consensus democracy as a way of resolving the wrong.