CHINA: Women are left at home as men go to cities to work and make ends meet in rural China

Record ID: 609254

  • Title: CHINA: Women are left at home as men go to cities to work and make ends meet in rural China
  • Date: 1st March 2007
  • Summary: WOMAN FEEDING COW CHILD CARRYING WOOD FOR FIRE WOMEN WALKING
  • Embargoed: 16th March 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Economic News,Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVAC509HU9DB6K6F8MECPOWENJQE
  • Story Text: Nestled in the foothills of China's second-poorest province, Dacitan (pron: dah tsih tahn) is a village run almost entirely by women.
    Their husbands have gone away to cities to work in the hopes of getting out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
    37-year-old Ma Haijizhe (pron: mah hah-yee djee djuh) is used to life without a man.
    Both her husband and son are doing migrant work in the cities to help make ends meet in their small Muslim village.
    Since her husband left home ten years ago to do sales work in the nearby Tibet region, she has taken over all the work at home-- including looking after her 78-year-old mother-in-law and two kids.
    Her only son followed in his father's footsteps last year and found a job as a construction worker in the provincial capital Lanzhou (pron: lahn djoh) after he graduated from high school.
    The two men of the family only come back home to help with the harvest twice a year.
    "I am the only person left at home to do all the work. My husband is working in the city to make some money. He has to leave home, because there is no other way out. It has to be like this," said Ma Haijizhe.
    To Ma's relief, her 19-year-old daughter Zhang Fatumi has grown up and is ready to help.
    Zhang Fatumai (pron: fah too mah-yee), a high school graduate, is shy and quiet. She spends most of her time helping in the field and doing housework. Watching the family's old black-and-white television has become her favourite form of entertainment since her little brother left.
    "I want to leave here as well to make some money, so I can buy some clothes. I get nothing by being stuck here," said Zhang Fatumai.
    China has an estimated 150 million migrant workers. The number has doubled over the past decade as poor rural residents flock to cities to take part in the country's economic boom-- working everywhere from construction sites and factories to restaurants.
    Ma Hailimei's (pron: hah-yee lee may) two sons are among the men who spend six to 10 months a year away from home.
    The 64-year-old woman says she misses them dearly.
    "Life is hard for me. I am old and cannot do all the work. My kids cannot send me money all the time. It is very expensive to buy medicines when I am sick," said Ma Hailimei.
    About 1,200 people live in Dacitan. It is the women who sustain the village from day to day. They line the main road on their way to work in the fields. They care for the children and cook meals.
    But it is the absent fathers and brothers who finance the development of the village.
    The head of village Ma Yuanhai (pron: mah ywin hah-yee) is very proud of the changes migrant work has brought to the village, where there is no industry at all. Not only do the families now have enough food, they also have a more sophisticated farming system.
    "A man can make around 8,000 RMB (approx 1,000 U.S.Dollars) every year if he does migrant work in the city. They bring more money back home. It is the best thing about going to the city. So people really want to go out looking for work. More and more people are leaving our village now," said Ma Yuanhai.
    Years ago, many of Dacitan's 250 households hardly had enough to eat.
    Now, even though the village has not prospered like large towns or other cities, some progress has come.
    Rural residents in poor provinces who don't go out to seek work make an of average, 247 USD a year, that is around 70 cents a day. An estimated 88 million rural Chinese live below the poverty line.
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