Province exemplifies new attitude toward education for girls

Born and raised in a hamlet hidden deep in the rolling mountains of Guizhou province, where strained rural family finances are usually reserved for male heirs, Wang Yongyan is a watershed for how locals educate girls.

In September, the 20-year-old, who has two younger brothers, became the first woman in her isolated ethnic Miao and Dong community to attend college.

She is also among very few rural students studying vocal music, her dream major.

Art majors are costly, with less certain job prospects. Therefore, they are often shunned by financially-strapped families like Wang's.

All was made possible by Mountain Phoenix, a program that offers scholarships and subsidies to rural families in Liping county that struggle financially, or are simply reluctant, to keep daughters in classrooms beyond China's nine-year compulsory education, which is tuition-free.

The problem is common in rural regions and far-flung ethnic communities.

Poor, conservative farmers in those areas are unwilling to invest in girls because they cannot pass down family names through marriage, which is considered to be important to expand family lineage.

Now attending a four-year undergraduate program at the Minzu University of China in Beijing, Wang said Mountain Phoenix has awarded her an 8,000 yuan ($1,210) scholarship, which helps cover a large chunk of the annual 12,000 yuan tuition and accommodation fee. Coupled with government-subsidized loans for poor students, Wang said the program has enabled her to choose a major that she truly loves.

"Art majors are costly, and I had been hesitant about the choice because I have two younger brothers," she added.

The program was launched early last year by the Zhejiang Women and Children's Foundation, a government-endorsed charity headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Ma Lin, deputy head of the county's education bureau, said 29 girls from 10 villages were awarded similar incentives in 2019, and the number has ballooned to 150 this year.

Apart from the scholarships, the program also hands out subsidies ranging from 2,800 to 5,400 yuan for less academically outstanding girls, he said.