3131 Edition
February 27-March 4, 2012
Editorial

Translated by Lydia Ma

During the Chen administration, nearly 20 sites across Taiwan were designated as landmarks highlighting the feminist movement in Taiwan, including Tamkang High School and Chang-Jung Girls Senior High School. Former President Chen Shui-bian recognized these two schools’ important place in Taiwanese history in 2006 because they were the earliest schools for women and played an important role in awakening and empowering women’s consciousness in a paternalistic society.

After women had access to modern education, they were able to fight oppression and they were liberated to run faster, jump higher, and pursue their dreams. Through the help of Scottish and Canadian missionaries who founded the PCT, women overcame labels such as “fragile” and “frivolous”. The PCT later went on to start various women ministries and organizations through the help of Miss Lily Adair. The Northern Women Missionary Society was founded on November 27, 1922 with her help and it celebrated its 90th anniversary this year. PCT’s Women Ministry Committee was later founded in 1983 to help coordinate various ministries and create a structural organization to these ministries.

Women’s ministries became more diverse in the 1980s with the addition of women career counseling centers, women outreach ministries, indigenous community development centers, gender justice committees, and the inclusion of women in the decision making process. Nowadays, women are not only able to stand on their two feet, they are also able to hold positions of authority and be decision-makers.

However, women face different challenges and struggles depending on the social customs of their countries. In Taiwan, increasing unemployment and fierce competition, coupled with diminishing salaries and a culture where men rarely contribute to childrearing, has made raising children a significant burden for women. In the end, most women discover that their careers are compromised if they choose to get married or have children, resulting in many of them choosing to remain single and Taiwan becoming the country with the lowest birth rate in the world for the past few years. To counter this problem, many families have opted for foreign brides, but the majority of these foreign women are marginalized when they come to Taiwan because of their status and in spite of their determination to work hard or accomplishment at home.

Modern Taiwanese women have come a long way from being dependent beings to being self-sustaining members of society. Their experiences have equipped them to step out and reach out to these foreign, marginalized women and become their friend and helper. Therefore, let us learn from Jesus, who became a friend of marginalized women. We can be confident that once these women’s lives are transformed, they will be able to transform our society.