A top Chinese political adviser has sounded the alarm on forced marriages of women with mental disabilities in rural areas, calling for a prevention mechanism and a nationwide investigation campaign.
Jiang Shengnan, a writer and member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, warned that tackling the issue presented multiple challenges.
There was a lack of support for such women when it came to marriage-related decision-making, Jiang told state-run China News Service on Tuesday, ahead of the “two sessions” – China’s annual top legislative and advisory meetings.
She said some parents forced their daughters into marriage for profit amid weak legal penalties for rights violations.
Homeless women with mental disabilities fared worse, as timely help was lacking and mandatory reporting obligations were not fully enforced, Jiang said.
She proposed a wide-ranging year-long campaign against forced marriages of such women, spanning preventive education, case discovery and rescue, placement, rehabilitation and judicial relief.
She also called for setting up crisis intervention centres for forced marriages and reporting hotlines that would accept anonymous tip-offs.
Other recommendations from Jiang included creating a combined mandatory reporting and early-warning mechanism to safeguard their marriage autonomy rights.
Several cases of such forced marriage have come to light in recent years – most notably that of a 45-year-old surnamed Bu who had been missing for more than a decade.
Bu, who had a history of mental illness, was found in late 2024 – some 13 years after losing contact with her family.
She was living with a villager surnamed Zhang, then 46, and had given birth to several children. The case raised suspicions that she was a victim of human trafficking and rape.
In January, authorities decided not to prosecute Zhang, saying his conduct had been “fundamentally different from rape” because “Zhang’s intent was to form a family and live with Bu”.
The ruling provoked an immediate public backlash, with many questioning whether family or marriage was being used to shield sexual violence.
The discovery of similar cases has drawn intense public scrutiny, but discussions are often censored. A volunteer report published last month called for greater coordination among government bureaus to rescue such women, as well as more transparent information.
Jiang has long advocated for women’s and children’s rights. Last year, she suggested that China should make divorce easier by removing the 30-day “cooling-off period”, despite a national push for more people to marry and have families.
Some of Jiang’s previous proposals have resulted in social change. In 2022, she proposed relaxing the 35-year age limit for applying for the civil service. The limit had since been increased to 40 in some cities, she told Southern Weekly last year.
Other delegates at this year’s two sessions making suggestions related to women’s rights include Fang Yan, a lawyer and a deputy to the National People’s Congress, China’s highest legislature.
She told reporters the cooling-off period for divorce should not apply in domestic violence cases, to prevent victims from suffering secondary harm. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
