THE MODERN GIRL.

Shannon News, 12 March 1926, Page 4

THE MODERN GIRL.

HER DAILY MFE IN CHINA. SOME CURIOUS CONTRASTS. The -life o£ Chinese girls and women to-day presents the most amazing: contrasts. In the same city j where one may see thousands of j young girls hobbling along on bound ] feet; other girls—favoured few who are in school —are playing netball and learning country dancing. After a large sports meeting held recently in a provincial capital some of the boys made the criticism that the gh-ls had not been allowed an equal share in the proceedings be- | cause they had not played football. I When it was suggested to them; that football is not universally considered a suitable game for girls, they said with an air of finality, i"But China is now a democracy." iln the same city where hospitals can be found with all modern equipment and where Chinese doctors trained in Western medical schools' offered their services, thousands of I poor folks still use the magic cures when their children fall sick, and ignore the most elementary laws of hygiene every day of their lives, writes CM. in the "Manchester Guardian." Many a little boy still wears the ear-ring which issupposed to deceive the spirits! into believing that he is the much lees valuable member of the family; the girl, or the silver ring round ) the neck which "locks • him into life." On the other hand, some modern educated fathers are quite noticeably fonder of their daughters ;than of their sons and quite "as anxious for them to have a career if they want it

It has been estimated (all statistics relative to China are approximate) that still only one woman in eighty can read. The proportion in the cities is probably higher, but in the country illiteracy is almost the rule. At the other end of the scale are,the women who have taken 1 degrees in English and American - universities. There are doctors, scientists, philosophers, educators i and journalists among them. The number of girls in school is constantly on the increase, though they still form a small fraction, probably about one in ten, of China's scholars. Educated Wives at Premium.

The demand for educated girls as wives is enormous. Educated young men naturally want educated wives. On the other hand, there is a great revolt against marriage on the part of the girls. From of> old, marriage in .China has meant; for th e women subjection to the (husband's family, and in # particular to his mother. Cases * are now of girls breaking engagements made for them in childhood by,their parents. Recently a girl of eighteen defended her righ tto break an engagement in the Law Courts in Pekin, and was successful. Other girls have been known to use the money left them by their parents, or /money they had saved themselves to contract out of undesirable engagemerits. This is a. tremendous change from the time when betrothal; arranged by the parents was regarded as being just as binding as marriage itself. There are instances of ,10-ve-matches and of happy homes founded on them, but these are all; too few as yet, and far too many young Chinese know nothing ' of any ideal of marriage or home life.

Film and Sex delations. Recently a whole issue* of one of the most popular magazinies for women was devoted to the subject _of divorce, and in general the question of. marriage receives a great deal of attention and is' discussed from every point of, view. The same magazine frequently, publishes photographs of newly-married couples after the best fashion of Western society papers. Young schoolgirls read novelettes of the most sentimental type, or worse. They get their ideas of Western sex relations from the least desirable « kind of kinema film. As they know; nothing of the normal equal kind of social intercourse that takes place between men and women in Western countries, they have nothing to counter-balance the impression made by the books and pictures. It is dis-

turbing to think what their ideas of I Western customs must be. The girls of China deserve to be offered- a share in the best that Western women have achieved, and, not only the less desirable 'elements. At this difficult period of adjustment to new conditions they nee<l all the understanding and . practical sympathy I that Western womei;, can give them.