Wosocu Paper1

ENRIQUEZ, Van Leoric U.
1ASN3 WOSOCU
Educational Issues of Women in China and Philippines
Introduction
Education is a very important asset that a human can get. It can help us have a good
life and contribute to the welfare of the society. But disparity between the education
given to women in both countries are seen. Both countries experience inequality when it
comes to education and labor force. This may be rooted to the patriarchal society both
countries have.
Summary
In the history of China, women in the past centuries experience a huge discrimination
just because they are women. Women are only viewed as needed for motherhood and
filial wifehood during the past centuries. The kind of education that females received
during the past were informal and they were taught how to do household chores and
how to be a woman. They are kept out to receive formal education because women
were viewed as inferior to men. Having a daughter was considered as a loss to a family
because she will be eventually be part of his husband’s family. Only those women in
noble families and are affluent can afford to have a tutor to teach them how to read or
write. Reading and writing is the highest form of education a woman can have during
the past centuries in China.
Chinese women started to experience to have formal education when Christian

missionaries went to China. In 1844, the missionaries established a religious school
which has free tuition, board, and lodging which attracted a lot of Chinese women.
These movement helped in making policies, reforms, and amendments to regulation to
have women in every school system. This helped women have tertiary education.
At present, both sexes at the urban area finished high school. In the 1995 data by
Comparison, 35% of the professionals are females. Regardless of the big improvement,
Chinese girls in rural areas do not received formal education. In some rural area,
especially the remote area, some Chinese still upholds the tradition and belief that
women are inferior. The Chinese government are trying their best to have both sexes
have education but some families in remote areas still upholds the old tradition.
In the Philippines, during the Spanish colonization, women received formal education.
They are taught to read and write, and they also received basic subjects. But the focus
of the education is how to become ladylike and vocational skills that will help in the
homemaking. Men are taught advance subjects and can even achieve tertiary education
if they are affluent. But everything changes in women’s education in the Philippines
when the Americans came and introduced the public educational system in the
Philippines.
This public educational system introduced by the Americans give opportunities to both
sexes to have the same education attainment that they want. Admissions were
liberalized, both sexes can receive all classes introduced by the Americans. This big
change in our educational system liberated the Filipina women. Even though the
Philippines started to become liberal to its views and allowed women to be free, but the
male machismo and the patriarchal society in the Philippines still affects the women.
Women are still expected to follow the gender roles assigned to them. They are still
expected to nurture and build the family. A new subject was introduced as “home
economics” were it is a subject for home making which is heavily influenced by gender
roles. Even though women given a chance to achieve and enter all the working
opportunities that they want, the job that they’ll receive are heavily related on nurturing,
service, and organizing which is heavily influenced by a female characteristic.
Synthesis
Both women in China and Philippines experienced a huge inequality when it comes in
education in the past. But there is a difference in both countries in the past centuries
when it comes to education. Filipina women received formal education, but it is focused
more on handling home and etiquette of becoming a lady. In the case of China, women
started to receive formal education during the 19th Century when Christian missionaries
started to build schools for women.
Both countries made a huge improvement as times modernized when it comes to
education. Both countries give formal education to both sexes and give opportunities to
women. But they are still subjected to gender roles in both countries. Filipina women are
expected to enter in a job position related to nurturing, serving, and organizing. Female
becoming professionals are a huge feat for a woman. There are also professionals in
Chinese women with the help of education but in some rural areas especially in remote
areas, they still uphold the old tradition which hinders Chinese girls to have education.
Reflection
Education has a huge part in achieving your dreams and goals in life. With the acquired
knowledge you’ve gained with education, things will be possible. Being educated will
help not only you, but to the improvement of our society. But there is a problem when it
comes for women attaining education. There are many obstacles and challenges they
must face in order to achieve it.
Obstacles and challenges such as stereotype, gender roles, and traditions and beliefs
hinder women to have an education in order to help them achieve their dreams.
Education does not look at the gender or background of a person. Education opens
itself to those who thirst to have knowledge and to help them make theirs and others life
better. So, depriving one sex of education is depriving the life of others.
Every woman should not be contained to one mold and expect them to be the same as
the others. Every woman has the capacity to go beyond on what is expected of them.
Every woman has the freedom to choose the path they want. Every woman holds the
power to build themselves with the help of education.
SOURCES
 Torres, A. (1993). Women’s Education as an Instrument for Change: The Case of

Philippines. The University of Michigan Press. Chicago. Retrieved from:
http://lynchlibrary.pssc.org.ph:8081/bitstream/handle/0/1216/Women's%20Educa
tion%20as%20an%20Instrumentfor%20Change,%20The%20Case%20of%20the
%20Philippines.pdf?sequence=1
 Liu, J., & Carpenter, M. (2005). Trends and Issues of Women's Education in
China. The Clearing House, 78(6), 277-281. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30192128

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ENRIQUEZ, Van Leoric U.

Educational Issues of Women in China and Philippines

Chinese women started to experience to have formal education when Christian

 Torres, A. (1993). Women’s Education as an Instrument for Change: The Case of

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