A Chinese woman waters her vegetables from buckets carried up from the lake, near Guilin. Freedom has been a mixed blessing for China's women. In 1949 Chairman Mao emancipated women from their feudal past, banning foot binding and allowing them into the work force for the first time. Fifty years later, as the communists' system of social control has withered, women's problems have multiplied. Prosperous husbands feel entitled to take lovers.
Domestic violence is rampant.
The rural custom of bride-selling has returned. At the same time, women have unprecedented liberty to fight for their own rights. A privately run shelter like the New Sun would have been unthinkable in Chairman Mao's China. Activist women are forming their own support groups, setting up counseling services, publishing books and newspapers. But now we can choose our own lives.