rural women

For years, Rural Women Knowing All Magazine together with the poor Chinese rural women have created opportunities for self-employment and development. In order to make it more effective, the magazine underwent strategic planning and organization adjustment, and the Cultural Development Center for Rural Women was thus founded. And it is composed of several branches, including Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women, Migrant Women’s Club and the Rural Community Development Project. It effectively deploys each branch’s resources and cooperation: The goal of the center is to establish a participative, democratized and sustainable NGO network for Chinese rural women and other non-governmental organizations to establish a way for community development.

Our purpose :To help Chinese rural women, poverty-stricken women in particular, to improve conditions for their production, life, health and education. Through providing services in health, culture, skill, law and information to advocate awareness of gender, uplift the ability for community development and realize rural women’s self-empowerment and sustainable development.

Out goal: To establish and promote developing mode for Chinese rural women and other non-governmental organizations devoted to them.

Frequently Asked Questions about The Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women

What kind of organization is the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women ？

The Center is an NGO promoting the advancement and personal development of rural women. It includes the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women, the Migrant Women's Club, Rural Women Magazine 's grassroots activities centers and projects for women's development in rural communities. It is a non-profit organization with an integrated program that “supports the poor and empowers rural women by combining development projects, news media and information services, and dissemination of the outcome of our research.”

What is the legal status of the Center and its branches, and what are the relationships between them?

Like most NGOs in China, the Center is registered with the Changping Branch of Beijing Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau. The Center employs six full-time staff members and one part-time staff member for administration, project management, and finance.

The Migrant Women's Club is a branch of the Center, with six full-time staff members and one part-time member. The Practical Skill Training Center for Rural Women in Changping, Beijing is a private non-enterprise unit registered at the civil administration bureau, with 12 full-time staff members.

The Center appoints the directors of each branch, but each branch operates independently. An administrative committee was set up within the Center in 2003 to deal collectively with important issues. The Center is now in the process of setting up an effective board of directors to ensure sustainable and healthy development in the future.

How did the Center develop into its current form?

The Center grew out of the project center for Rural Women Magazine (formally Rural Women Knowing All ), which began publication in January 1993. The magazine, supervised by the All-China Women's Federation and administered by China Women's News , is the only monthly magazine for rural women.

Through running the magazine, our staff learned much about the needs and aspirations of rural women, who generally form a silent group, lacking public attention and opportunities for advancement. Influenced and encouraged by the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, we began to incorporate new concepts related to women's development and NGO projects into our work. With support from international funds and foundations, we have carried out a series of projects to promote rural women's development, such as literacy classes, micro-credit, reproductive health, life crisis intervention, and training to encourage rural women's participation in politics.

Due to recent trends toward urbanization, increasing numbers of rural women have entered cities seeking work. In order to help meet their needs, the magazine initiated the Migrant Women's Club—the first organization dedicated to supporting migrant women—in 1996. Two years later, the magazine founded the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women, which provides rural women opportunities to participate in a variety of training and education classes.

As our non-profit operations continued expanding among increasing demands of standardization on NPOs, we set up the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women in September, 2001. At this time, the operation of our non-profit projects became separate from those of Rural Women Magazine . Today, the Center is independently responsible for all administration and organization decisions.

Where does the Center obtain its resources?

Before the Center was set up, the magazine's resources mainly included income from running the magazine, grants from overseas foundations and organizations, and donations from individuals. In recent years, the number of overseas grants received has increased dramatically. Up until 1995, the only overseas grant that the magazine received was from the Ford Foundation. However, from 1996 to 1998, this number increased to eleven . By 2000, the magazine's partners and financial supporters had reached more than twenty.

Since the Center was set up in 2001, its resources ha ve mainly come from overseas grants and domestic fundraising. In an effort to sustain the development of the organization, we began to explore the potential of domestic fundraising. We held a charity dinner o n July 18, 2003, and successfully raised more than RMB 30,000 for the “Emergency Relief Fund for Migrant Women”. On August 1, 2004, we hosted another fundraising lunch and collected more than RMB 110,000 to fund literacy classes for rural women in China's western regions. We intend to continue expanding our domestic fundraising efforts.

What kind of relationship exists between the Center and Rural Women Magazine ?

Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women is a non-profit organization completely separate from Rural Women Magazine . The latter is an independent institution supervised by the All-China Women's Federation and administered by China Women's News . Since both the Center and the magazine have similar objectives, their operations and projects are closely related, and there is some subsequent collaboration. However, with regards to administration (i.e. finance, property, and personnel management), each has its own rules and regulations .

What projects is the Center involved in? And where are these projects carried out?

Although regist ered in Beijing, our projects extend throughout China, with a special focus being paid to rural women living in impoverished areas in China's western regions.

Our projects include:

Community Action to Prevent Rural Women's Suicide: We have set up health support groups in six villages in Zhengding, Haixing and Qinglong counties in Hebei Province in an effort to increase public knowledge about mental health. The aim of the project is to improve rural women's quality of life and thus reduce their suicide rate.
Literacy for Rural Women: We are holding literacy classes for rural women in Zhangxian and Longxi counties in Gansu Province and in Luodian County in Guizhou Province. By using literacy as a means by which to empower rural women, we hope to help these underprivileged individuals raise themselves out of poverty.
Promoting Rural Women's Participation in Politics: We set up the National Women Village Heads Support Network after holding training sessions for female village leaders and community activities. Members of this network occasionally hold activities in order to strengthen and increase their numbers in local village administrations.
Serving Urban Migrant Women: Through our “Migrant Women's Club” we offer services to migrant workers in Beijing. The intent is to raise their awareness of local laws and customs. By doing so, we hope to raise their self-confidence, enabling them to push for the improvement of state public policies.
In addition, the Practical Skills Training Center has established the “Rural Women Grant-Aid Fund”. This fund offers financial support to girls from poor families in China's western regions who have been unable to attend school. The aim is to provide the girls with access to practical job skills training, thus equipping them to better find employment in Beijing or their home areas.

The main Administrative Committee of the Center

A much loved and highly esteemed professor, Director Wu Qing is now serving her fourth term as a deputy for the Beijing People's Congress. Since 1993, she has also been an advisor to Rural Women Magazine , B oard D irector and legal representative of Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women, and the Director of the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women. For years she has been engaged in promoting rural women's development in China and in fundraising for our projects.

She has enjoyed a prominent reputation in the international community and has been directly involved in the administration of many domestic and foreign women's organizations. Among the numerous positions she has held are included: Director of the Global Fund for Women, President of the Women's World Summit Foundation, and honorary President of the Women's Trans-Culture Network. Her particular areas of concern are focused on the furthering of rural women's education and development. In recognition of her outstanding contribution to promoting Chinese women's participation in community affairs, she won the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. Other awards and special recognitions she has received include: Being nominated by Reform Daily (Rural Version) as one of the top twenty people who care the most about peasants and rural issues in China in 2002 and 2003, and being selected by the Schwab Foundation Network as the World's Outstanding Social Entrepreneur for 2003.

Xie Lihua founded Rural Women Magazine and the Center. She has also served as the deputy Editor-in-Chief of China Women's News , Editor-in-Chief of Rural Women Magazine , and the Secretary-General of Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women. In 1983, she began working with the All-China Women's Federation. In 1984, she was involved in the launching of China Women's News and has since then successively been an editor, reporter, section chief and deputy Editor-in-Chief. During the 1990's, she initiated a number of significant projects, beginning with the publication of Rural Women Knowing All (now Rural Women Magazine ) in 1993, followed by the Migrant Women's Club in 1996, and the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women in 1998. Due to her prominent contributions to the promotion of rural women's development, she has received several honorary awards. These include the “Resourceful Women Award 1994” (U.S.), the “New Venture Award 1995” (UK), and the “Award for Popularizing Science and Technology in Rural China” (China) in 1996. China Central Television Station (CCTV) has dramatized her contributions in the well-known programs Oriental Son and Half the Sky . The Washington Post (U.S.) has profiled Ms. Xie, describing her as an influential individual in advancing the position of Chinese women.

Shi Huiyun , Senior Accountant and financial head of the Center

How do I offer help and support to the Center?

To help girls from poverty-stricken areas who have been unable to receive schooling:
Please contact the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women
Person in charge: Luo Zhaohong
Address: Dadongliu Village, Xiaotangshan Township, Changping District, Beijing 102211
Tel: 01061711484/010617114581

To support the literacy classes for rural women in China's western regions:
Please contact the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women
Persons in charge: Gao Guanglin and Xu Xu
Address: 301, #1, Jiali Mansion, 180 Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101
Tel: 01064983764

To support migrant women's emergent relief and legal aid:
Please contact the Migrant Women's Club
Person in charge: Han Huimin
Address: 3 Jingyongli, Di'anmen Xidajie, Beijing 10009
Tel: 010-66163129

To support the establishment of the “Rural Women Health Supporting Groups”:
Please contact Xu Rong from the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women
Address: 301, #1, Jiali Mansion, 180 Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101
Tel: 01064983764

To support our training of rural women in order to encourage them to participate in local public affairs and village administration:
Please contact Rural Women Magazine
Person in charge: Li Bodong
Address: 301, #1, Jiali Mansion, 180 Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101
Tel: 01064980010

To subscribe to Rural Women Magazine :
Please contact Fan Lijuan
Address: 301, #1, Jiali Mansion, 180 Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101
Tel: 01064980110

To support our organization's overall development:
Please contact the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women.
Person in charge: Xie Lihua
Address: 301, #1, Jiali Mansion, 180 Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101
Tel: 01066164191

If you cannot speak Chinese:

Please contact Chen Shanshan at the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Women

Address: 301, #1, Jiali Mansion, 180 Beiyuanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101
Tel: 01064983764
E-mail: njnbst@263.net
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