Abstract

This study centers on the history of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) from 1949 to 1996. The ACWF was the first nation-wide women's organization in the People's Republic of China and has been the official leader of the Chinese women's movement. By reviewing the origins, ideology, structure and functions of the ACWF, this study examines how the Federation has worked to liberate Chinese women from tradition, to involve them in the socialist revolution and to promote their welfare, as well as their social status in China. Emphasis is placed on tracing how the dual roles of the ACWF as government agency and as representative of Chinese women's interests were at times incompatible, and consequently affected the growth of the Chinese women's movement. In conclusion, this study suggests that both the ACWF and the Chinese women's movement entered new stages of development when Chinese society began to undergo fundamental changes as a result of its economic reforms during the 1980s and the 1990s.