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| Vol. 18, No. 5 | Oct. 1, 1998 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 5 | Oct. 1, 1998 |
International women's issues have been the focus of Suzanne Cherrin's research, writing and teaching.
That focus recently took her to China when People to People International, a global nonprofit organization, selected Cherrin to lead a women's studies delegation to China to interact with Chinese women and learn about their programs, concerns and viewpoints firsthand.
"Since the 1995 U.N. World Conference on Women in Beijing, Chinese women's studies programs have grown in number and size, so this mission was an exciting opportunity. There were 12 women delegates, mostly from academia, from across the country," Cherrin, women's studies, said.
"In June, we visited Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, talking to women in government, in universities and colleges, women workers and representatives from such organizations as the All-China Women's Federation and the Women's Studies Institute of China. Our goal was to make friends and contacts, to exchange information and viewpoints openly without judgment," Cherrin said.
"For Chinese women, unemployment is a major issue. Women and families from rural areas are migrating to cities where they are ineligible for help and services until they have been residents for a few years. Poverty, job training and jobs for women in this 'floating population' are problems, as is domestic violence. Although there are no shelters for women, there are hot lines so that some help is available," she said.
Women are encouraged to become educated in China, according to Cherrin, but there is some feeling that men and women have different talents, leading to more traditional training programs for women. At Shaanxi University in Xi'an, Cherrin observed many women in the graduating class.
The one-child policy was touched on during their discussions with Chinese women. "Apparently, some women like this policy. In China, women are interested in marrying, and both parents invest time and energy in raising a child," Cherrin said.
When discussing the United States, race relations and immigration were the topics that most interested the Chinese.
"Overall, the exchanges and contacts we had with Chinese women were valuable in promoting better understanding between our delegates and Chinese women," Cherrin said.
In a side note about the mission, Cherrin said President Bill Clinton also was in China at the same time, and their paths kept crisscrossing.
In Xi'an, the delegates were delayed at the airport, which shut down when he arrived, and they were able to view the welcome ceremonies from afar.
Their time slot to view the city's famed terra cotta warriors was changed because the president was touring then, and their hotel was upgraded because the president's staff wished to stay in theirs. In Shanghai, they viewed the president in his motorcade.
In addition to China, Cherrin also visited Nicaragua in January. Although women joined in the revolution in that country and women's rights are written into the laws, women have not achieved equality, she said.
The Catholic Church is influential, representing both conservative and proactive factions, but within Christian communities, Cherrin said, human rights and integrity are valued.
Cherrin, who received her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in sociology from UD, joined the faculty in 1987. In addition to an introductory course on women's studies, she teaches an advanced courses on international women's issues, which covers a whole spectrum from work issues to health, childcare, sexuality, violence, arranged marriages and women's roles in revolutionary movements.
She and Kate Conway-Turner, individual and family studies, have written Women, Families and Feminist Politics: A Global Exploration, which examines these issues and is used as a text in her class.
In addition, Cherrin, Conway-Turner, Jessica Schiffman and Kathleen Doherty Turkel, both women's studies, have edited Women's Studies in Transition: The Pursuit of Interdisciplinarity.
-Sue Swyers Moncure
Photo by Jack Buxbaum
