Shenzhen in Guangdong province will soon publish a rule on gender equality.
The new rule, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Gender Rule, has three highlights. The first highlight is a gender audit. The rule states that local audit departments at various levels should conduct a regular audit on their region's gender equality budget; investigate the implementation of gender equality activities; issue a report; and publish it to the public.
The second highlight is human rights protection. The rule states that victims of domestic violence shall report to the police department and the latter should act immediately to address the issue in advance of the court issuing a protection order for the victim, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Act.
Another highlight of the rule is that when a woman is on maternity leave, the husband is entitled to a 30-day holiday to take care of the baby.
Cai Li, the chairman of Shenzhen Municipal Women's Federation, believes that the new rule, which is reported to be the first one that focuses on gender equality in the Chinese mainland, will help protect women's basic rights.
