History changing to 'her story' in local governance

From village leaders to community volunteers, a growing number of women in China are taking on key roles in grassroots governance, bringing fresh ideas and vital perspectives to local development.

Between 2012 and 2022, the proportion of women among village committee members nationwide increased by 4 percentage points, while their share among neighborhood committee members rose by 5.5 percentage points, according to Feng Ling, vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation.

"These women have become leaders in promoting local industrial development, advancing rural culture and improving living environments," Feng said at a news conference in September.

In Shilin township of Hebi city, Henan province, 28-year-old Zhang Guifang was elected Party secretary of Sanjia village in 2021. Over five years, she helped transform the village by developing rural tourism, painting murals, and promoting agricultural products through livestreaming, boosting residents' incomes and putting the village on the map.

In Fujian province, Zhong Tuanyu, Party secretary of Jindouyang village in Fu'an, revived traditional She ethnic martial arts to develop cultural tourism, charting a new path in rural transformation.

Zhong, 49, who is also a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and an inheritor of the She ethnic martial arts, said: "Only a thriving village can preserve the She ethnic martial arts."

Under her leadership, roads were repaired, streetlamps installed, and tourism facilities upgraded. Instead of moving away, many villagers became homestay hosts or martial arts performers. Thanks to rural tourism centered on the She ethnic martial arts, the village's revenue jumped from 200,000 yuan ($28,000) in 2021 to 500,000 yuan in 2024.

According to the 2022 progress monitoring report of the Outline for Women's Development in China (2021-30), women accounted for 54.3 percent of neighborhood committee members and 41.3 percent of neighborhood committee directors, as well as 26.1 percent of village committee members and 10.9 percent of village committee directors.

Data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that in 2022, there were 489,000 village committees, with a total of 2.154 million village committee members. And there were 118,000 neighborhood committees, comprising 663,000 neighborhood committee members.

The outline explicitly sets the goal of promoting the orderly participation of women in urban and rural grassroots social governance.

China's No 1 central document for 2025 further emphasizes deepening the implementation of projects that support rural women in contributing to rural vitalization, injecting fresh momentum for women to engage in rural development. "China has established a series of institutional arrangements at both national and local levels to provide strong guarantees for women's equal participation in the most extensive, genuine and effective forms of democratic practice," Feng said.

Volunteer service has also become a vital channel for women to participate in grassroots governance, while social organizations provide important platforms for their engagement.

In Daishan county, Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, 65-year-old Hu Songsu launched a campaign in 2020 to collect and recycle marine plastics. As head of the local fishermen's wives organization, she and other women persuade fishermen to gather waste from the sea and separate recyclables.

"As fishermen's wives, our main duties include ensuring fishing safety and resolving disputes among fishermen. Protecting the marine environment is the foundation of fishing safety," Hu said.

Their voluntary efforts have not only reduced ocean pollution but also generated additional income for women who sort the plastic and fishermen who collect it, as the materials are sold to manufacturers.

According to a recently released white paper on women's all-around development in China, in 2024, there were 24 million registered women volunteers nationwide and 350,000 women volunteer service teams. They carried out nearly 1 million volunteer service activities, covering all 17 goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

lishangyi@chinadaily.com.cn